Only the Energy Minister can authorize a timetable for dumsor – Osafo-Maafo

He said the Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has the sole prerogative to issue the timetable.

He told TV3’s Duke Mensah-Opoku in an interview on the sidelines of a forum on open government partnerships and construction sector transparency in Accra, on Tuesday, April 23, that the release of the timetable is something that can be done.

“To publish the rationing of the power, nobody can do it except the Minister of Energy because he is seeing the generation and they [ECG] are looking at the utilization. So, they can look at it and say that in this particular area, this is how it should be done, but it is something which can be done because it is what you have and what you have to use and the spread,” he said.

Calls have been intensified to the government to release a load-shedding schedule to enable people to plan their lives properly.

Relatedly, the Institute of Energy Security (IES) has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the Minister for Energy.

According to the Institute, the current power outages, popularly known as dumsor, are enough reason for him to be sacked.

Nana Amoasi VII, the Executive Director of IES, expressed disappointment with the minister’s perceived inaction in an interview on Eyewitness News on Monday.

He highlighted the minister’s apparent disconnect from the reality of the energy situation, questioning the purpose of his presence in such a critical space.

Matthew Opoku Prempeh is Ghana’s Energy Minister Pulse Ghana

“Where we have gotten to, there is no circuit and so what is the use of the minister in that space? He must be relieved, probably to concentrate on any other agenda he is bidding for. He must be relieved of his post. It is becoming too much. Is it not insulting with the statement that he made? Total disrespect to consumers. Are we asking for too much?

“For God’s sake, I am a prepaid consumer. I have paid for that power that you need to supply me. In fact, you chose to put a meter in my house at a fee, which is also a contract in a form, and he chose to take my money in advance.

“If I am not going to get the power, then just out of respect, at least tell me when I can have the power. But don’t look into my face and say, I should go and produce my timetable.”

The IES said the current state of the energy sector necessitates swift intervention, prompting their advocacy for the minister’s dismissal.