'ENERGY MINISTER MUST GO'

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday March 24, 2014

The Executive Director of IMANI Center for Policy & Education, Franklin Cudjoe wants Energy Minister Emmanuel Kofi Buah to resign because he has failed in his duty.

He said the minister has failed to fix the country’s energy crisis and did not deserve to be in office.

Contributing to Citi FM’s news analysis programme ‘The Big Issues’, Mr Cudjoe said “he (Energy Minister) has failed to proffer any serious vision, futuristic solution to the energy crisis; look at the demeanor, look at the public statement, none of them since this man was made a minister have been made in a manner that would give some hope to the business community or ordinary people to be able to plan…,’’ he said.

He said the Ministry of Energy had failed in all predictions and timelines given to them and the power crisis is further compounding the woes of the economy.

‘’The Ministry sat down and allowed the three entities; VRA, GRIDCo and ECG to be mis-communicating then I am saying that there is no coherence in thought, in concept, in application of even that thought process…,’’ he said.

He said the Minister's continued misinformation to the general public on the real and proper state of the energy situation in the sector has serious implication for the nation’s economy. ‘’You need somebody to come and give you vision,’’ he said.

“When he keeps telling you that this gas problem we will deliver it, announcing the numbers as if they are lotto numbers. The implication for the nation is serious; …every statement you make on important matters like energy you’ve got to be very serious,” he said.

Mr. Cudjoe said the current situation had caused a cut down in investment by some companies and added that Ghana might be open for business but “with this kind of mis-speaking, we send the wrong signal to investors.”

He also said that the government is struggling to solve the energy problem because “the whole gamut of the NDC governance system lacks focus and does not understand the policy space in terms of energy.”

“The President has made a substantive appointment, but, he is being fed with lies (on the energy situation), they deceived him to say the ‘dumsor’ was over. You can’t continue to fool the President that way,’’ he charged.

Sydney Casely-Hayford, a Financial Analyst who was a panel member on the same programme supported the call for the resignation of the Minister.

“There is no reason why Kofi Buah (Energy Minister) should be at post,” he said.

Mr. Casely-Hayford further said President John Dramani Mahama should also be blamed for poor leadership because “he has failed to hold his ministers to task.”

“If a minister is not performing and you cannot call him to task…, (the President must be blamed too),” he opined.