The Ministry of Energy has released a public statement in defense of the dismissive comments its sector minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), was seen to have made in a viral video when he was asked about the load-shedding timetable.
In the five-point statement, the ministry indicated that, while the minister’s statement is being misrepresented as sensitive, it was rather innocuous and the video in circulation has been distorted.
In their bid to avert the minds of Ghanaians, the ministry stated that the minister snubbed the idea of a timetable based on the recommendation made by the Electricity Company of Ghana-citing the cause of the erratic power outages is being addressed.
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“The Minister dismissed the need for a load management timetable because in his view and as indicated by the Electricity Company of Ghana, the causes of the temporary power
challenges are being addressed. The Minister in the clip said, “Addressing the issues is not
an event” which is rightly so,” the statement said.
The statement further explained that the minister was merely juxtaposing in his view, the “pervasive ‘Dumsor’ for 4 years,” under the John Mahama administration against a current “better” one, which according to the ministry, explains why the minister would attribute the calls for a timetable as “quest to score cheap political points.”
The statement also expressed the ministry’s assurance to Ghanaians on solving the power challenge plaguing the country.
A few days ago, the energy minister was seen making some dismissive remarks when a multimedia journalist quizzed him on the erratic power outages and the pertinent need for a load-shedding timetable.
“Ask those who want it, to bring it”
That was his response to a rather harmless inquiry into what Ghanaians seemingly have been wondering about any time our bulbs flicker and darkness invades our homes.
For a minister whose name has come up as a favorite to be nominated to partner Dr Bawumia as running mate for the NPP, his comments, no matter how the ministry tries to spin it, don’t augur well for him, for the constituents he represents and for the Ghanaian citizens whose taxes are used to remunerate him.
Instead of the ministry doing PR work, the minister should rather apologize to Ghanaians.