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David Oscar cannot make academic arguments

Mr. Branttie noted that it would have done the comedian a great service if he had been very analytical on the issue

 

A policy analyst at IMANI Ghana, Selorm Branttie has said that stand-up comedian, David Oscar lacks the ability to make academic arguments.

The comedian had chided actress Yvonne Nelson and other celebrities who are planning a vigil against government’s handling of the power crisis in the country. He stated that it is hypocritical for the celebrities to take such stands when they have refused to offer solutions to end the power crisis.

“I'm not even gonna [going to] be hypocritical and join the ‪#‎DumsorMustStop trend. How many of us have tried to conserve energy? Thanks to our waste, the dams are suffering. Don't get me wrong, I'm a mindless critic of the president JDM, and I understand that there are alternative sources of energy, but do you think that if it was that easy to fix the power crisis, the president would not save[d] himself the blames and constant harassment?“As a nation, we happen to be fault seekers and less of vision implementers. Dumsor must stop, but your constant whining and whimpering would not act as a magic wand. Period!” he posted on Facebook.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Mr. Branttie noted that it would have done the comedian a great service if he had been very analytical on the issue.

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He stated in a Facebook post that the dams are not suffering because of “our” waste as Oscar claims; rather, “because of a lack of support to maintain it to an optimum level. The dams are suffering because transmission losses and smart transformers aren’t being acquired and obsolete mechanisms dating to the 60s are still being used. Get your facts right.”

Below is his post on Facebook:

“Dear David Oscar,

Thanks for your wonderful insight on what has taken storm in Ghana this week as a celebrity and a comedian of excellence.

I however disagree with your perceptions of our judgement of what is going on for a few reasons. By my insight and perceptions of course, I would call them academic.

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I will not insult you because you have an opinion, which is very important in the dispensation we find ourselves in. Every voice, truly, must be heard.

Now, lets address your assertions:

1. " How many of us have tried to conserve energy? Thanks to our waste, the dams are suffering."

Answer: Nobody is wasting power. Estimates show that our per capita electricity consumption, according to the World Bank and

, puts us at No. 164 out of 214 Nations. Note that countries like Jamaica and Cuba and Egypt are way higher, and this is according to 2012 estimates.

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In austere times like this when power is very difficult to get, and electricity tarrifs are at the highest, there is a natural tendency to minimize its use as much as possible. I think its called economics and consumer behavior. Please do well to revise your notes.

Our current power output, combined is supposed to be 2,846 MW. Half of this is used by commercial interests and industry. This means that the rest of the nation domestically uses around 1,450 MW. Assume we get all that power. If you divide that by 25 million people, that amounts to each person using using 50 WATT... Yes! 50 Watt. It means that we are collectively using enough to power a small radio to listen to you whine.

Now, that is not even the issue. David, if we conserve more, we wont even be able to listen to you on radio. Do you know what that means? You will be so broke you wont be able to buy toothpaste and even have a good smile.

2. The Dams are not suffering because of our waste. The dams are suffering because of a lack of support to maintain it to an optimum level, the dams are suffering because transmission losses and smart transformers arent being acquired and obsolete mechanisms dating to the 60s are still being used. Get your facts right.

3. There are indeed alternatives worth pursuing. You are very right on that. But have we been able to have the guts to even consider other Ghanaians abroad who could help with innovation to fix this? No! The GOVERNMENT IS PREACHING ONLY ONE ALTERNATIVE: A POWER BARGE THAT MIGHT COME THIS YEAR.

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The alternative is putting all eggs in one basket. A very large bit of lottery, savvy?

4. Yes, people going on the street and holding vigils will not generate Megawatts of electricity, but do you know what it does, it helps others know that they are not alone and they can come together and voice frustrations at a leadership that has overpromised and grossly underdelivered. If anything, it shows that in the game of trust, one party held its side of the bargain: The celebs and others that you call hypocrites:

They listened and voted based on a promise. Then they waited. And Waited. They were asked to wait some more. And they waited. And were asked to wait even more. And they waited. And they were told that the end was in sight, and yet, when the time designated for the end came, they were told to wait even more.

During that wiating period, lives have been lost, opportunities missed, jobs lost. You see, waiting on a promise doesnt increase your livelihood. But its time that the silent voices rose out. If your colleagues are doing this, it isnt because they are seeking attention. They got plenty of that. Its because they, like all others, know what it means to execute and deliver to an audience.

I think that is something you havent accomplished in a while. Try it.

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You say we are a nation of fault seekers: In this same nation, we have young men and women who are inventing things and succeeding outside the country because their own country doesn't want to recognize or implement their visions because of some fallacious political prejudice. You see, they implement their visions where they are welcome.

Yes, you say we dont implement visions: Please elaborate: Do we implement visions based on some promises? What vision have you ever executed, and was that vision based on dubious mirages?

Was that a joke?

Anyway, for you and your friends that are on radio stations saying that we are making Ghana not look good for investors et al, I have news for you: Investors arent dumb. They dont make decisions based on what people think. They make decisions based on business value and cost appraisals and profit margins. If they know they have their way, your sentiments dont matter.

Maybe you should stick to comedy and not comment on real life situations. It doesnt seem to be your forte.

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Have a nice day!

Bibliography:

World Bank Data, Google Visualizations

CIA FactbookVRA Website

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