Special Aide to John Dramani Mahama, the former President, Stan Xoese Dogbey in a scathing remark rebuked the attitude of the Minister of Energy, Dr. Opoku Prempeh, for his seeming insensitive towards the general public concerning the current Dumsor issues the country is grappling with.

He indicated that the Energy Minister has again displayed an unacceptable arrogance and a lack of leadership skills and tact in his response to questions about Dumsor and the Public Utility Regulatory Commission’s request for a load-shedding timetable.

“His dismissive attitude towards the concerns of both the public and the Public Utility Regulatory Commission is deeply concerning. Instead of addressing the issue of erratic power supply (Dumsor) professionally and responsibly, he has resorted to boasting about supposed improvements and making condescending remarks about John Mahama”.
Stan Xoese Dogbey

Furthermore, Mahama’s Aide indicated that the attempt of the Minister of Energy to compare the current Dumsor situation with the erratic power disruption the country experienced under the Mahama regime is “petty”.

He claimed that the behavior of Dr. Opoku Prempeh does not reflect the kind of leadership that the people of Ghana expect, emphasizing that Ghanaians deserve more from their leaders than what the Minister of Energy is offering.

More so, Stan Dogbey noted that the response of the Energy Minister demonstrates that he does not understand the challenges Ghanaians are enduring as a result of the constant power outage. He argued that the Minister failed to understand that businesses rely on constant power supply to thrive, indicating that the current power sector problem is negatively affecting private businesses.

Consequently, the Special Aide of Mahama stated that by shifting the responsibility onto the public to plan a load-shedding timetable for itself and questioning the motive of the public’s demand for a schedule, Dr. Opoku Prempeh and the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government failed to fulfill their duty to Ghanaians as public servants.

Leaders, Servants To Ghanaians

Moreover, Stan Xoese Dogbey emphasized that public leaders are servants of the public and should serve Ghanaians in their various roles and not vice versa. “We pay them to work for us, not vice versa” he added.

He argued that the ability to engage in effective communication and the preparedness to address the problems of society is a desired trait in a leader and therefore a public office holder. He emphasized that the Minister of Energy falls short of these traits hence his unpleasant reaction to the public’s request.

“Government officials must show humility, empathy, and a willingness to listen to the public’s concerns, all of which the energy minister has failed to demonstrate. He lacks leadership skills and is poor at public communication”.
Stan Xoese Dogbey

More so, the Special Aide to Mahama argued that the Minister’s refusal to take responsibility for the power crisis demonstrates that he, the Minister does not have the interest of the citizens– who are further burdened financially by the crisis– at heart.

Meanwhile, the opposition in power, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also described the attitude of the Minister as reckless, emphasizing that the Minister must resign from his post as Minister of the Energy Sector.

The NDC indicated that a responsible leader would have felt mandated to explain the details of the current power crisis to the public rather than antagonize the public for seeking clarification and demanding an alternative.

Furthermore, the NDC emphasized that Dr. Opoku Prempeh is a prototype of people serving as leaders in the incumbent government. It alleged that public officeholders in the incumbent government are generally insensitive to the plights of Ghanaians.

The NDC indicated that the crop of leaders in the current administration does not have the intellectual capacity to understand the economy and the problems surrounding it. The party noted that the government is practically useless as it has no means of solving the problems of Ghanaians.

Conclusively, while the NPP and the NDC continue with the argument of whether the present power crisis should be classified as Dumsor, the fact remains that businesses are bearing the brunt of the crisis and may fold if action is not taken to resolve the issue.