A charge Dr Donkor cannot ignore

President John Mahama last Friday swore in the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, and charged him to act quickly to end the ‘dumsor-dumsor’ situation that the country has been experiencing since 2012.

The President told him that his sector was going to be the most watched and that he would be responsible for ensuring that the ‘dumsor’ phenomenon came to an end.

He explained that the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum had to be split to have a focused attention on handling the power challenges.

The charge by the President could not have come at a better time when the power situation has led to despondency, especially for industry and the general populace.

The extent of hopelessness over the power situation seems to be permeating every strata of society because complaints over erratic power supply keeps recording low volumes, ostensibly because a good number of people are taking it in their stride.

Without doubt, power remains the most significant factor in the modern world of information and communications technology (ICT) and stimulating productivity, for which reason its absence creates a lot of deficiencies for national life.

Electricity supply, therefore, constitutes the fundamental catalyst for socio-economic development, without which the engine of national growth grinds to a halt.

This principle has clearly been demonstrated in the power crisis which has led to some businesses folding up and others experiencing a drastic reduction in productivity and revenue generation.

The closure of businesses has also added to the number of unemployed persons and will further deepen the challenges confronting the nation’s quest to improve living standards and eradicate poverty.

Even in the face of a structured schedule, which involved all the stakeholders in the power sector, industry continues to express dissatisfaction with the debilitating effects that the load shedding is having on their operations.

Clearly, the ‘dumsor-dumsor’ situation is one single predatory factor that threatens all the gains that have been made by the country over the years and unless it is addressed comprehensively, the concept of diminishing returns will take centre stage.

It is for this reason that all eyes will be fixed on Dr Donkor, who has been entrusted with the responsibility to bring the challenges in that sector to an end.

Although the Daily Graphic believes that the present challenge poses a major challenge to Dr Donkor, we want to believe that the President appointed him because of Dr Donkor’s demonstrated ability in that area.

That is why the whole nation expects him to deliver and bring the power crisis to a definite end.

That is the ultimate expectation of every Ghanaian and nothing less than success is expected.

The Daily Graphic welcomes Dr Donkor to the saddle and wishes him success in this national endeavour.