The Member of Parliament for Oforikrom and a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy, Michael Kwasi Aidoo, has described the removal of Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) CEO, Ing. Mark Awuah Baah, as a “smokescreen”.
He said the government is avoiding a proper approach to solving the real issues in the power sector.
His comments follow an announcement by Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, that the Energy Minister had directed the GRIDCo boss to step aside.
The directive came after a fire incident at the Akosombo Power Control Centre last week, which triggered widespread power disruptions across parts of the country.
Top ECG managers in the Ashanti Region are also alleged to have been transferred.
Reacting to the development in an interview with Barima Kofi Dawson-Akokoa on Nhira FM’s Kro Yi Mu Nsem on Monday, April 27, the Oforikrom MP said the decision would not resolve Ghana’s recurring power crisis.
“I see the sacking of the GRIDCo CEO as a smokescreen because an issue has come up, so we need to use someone as a scapegoat. In fact, I am told there is going to be a reshuffling of ECG leadership in Kumasi, and this will not solve the problem,” he stated.
He called on the government to seek lasting solutions to the power crisis rather than dismissing and transferring engineers who are working to keep the national grid stable.
Mr. Aidoo cautioned against dragging politics into the energy sector, particularly the removal of technical staff on political grounds.
“Should the power outages persist following this action, will it necessitate further reshuffling?” he questioned.
“There is a pressing issue that requires resolution. We must desist from dismissing technical personnel based on alleged political affiliations and suspicions of sabotage. We shouldn’t politicise our technical people working in the power sector.”
The lawmaker identified negligence, inadequate planning, and insufficient stakeholder engagement in transformer installations as the causes of the recent intermittent power cuts, locally known as dumsor.
He further noted that the previous NPP administration installed a lot of transformers to sustain power supply, suggesting that current challenges stem from policy discontinuity and inadequate maintenance.
“ECG advises on how to fix and upgrade transformers. Based on that advice, former MD Dubik Mahama procured these transformers and other ECG equipment. So the NDC government should have carried out this maintenance last year to prevent the power crisis, but they failed to do so and instead accused Samuel Dubik Mahama of over-procurement,” he said.
“I feel that government negligence, poor planning, and lack of engagement with experts led us into this energy crisis,” Mr. Aidoo stated.
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