Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed disappointment over comments by his political opponents that, the NPP is constantly complaining about the energy crisis to win political points, and that they will be “weaponless” when the crisis is over.<\/p>\n
According Nana Addo, the devastating effects of the energy crisis, known popularly as “dumsor,” go beyond opposition or government talk, and that, it is at the heart of Ghana’s survival, especially for the citizenry and businesses.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”Z0zXVhpSxObt2qZHHdAsw9q9SejwYNg8″]The 2016 presidential candidate of the NPP wondered why \u201cgovernment apologists are saying that after the government resolves the dumsor crisis, we as opposition people, will have nothing to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am astonished by this proposition,\u201d Nana Addo saidd, adding that dumsor \u201cis not a campaign weapon. It borders on the very survival of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing students of the University of Cape Coast on Saturday, Nana Addo referred to the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research’s (ISSER) recent report<\/strong><\/span><\/a> which put the cost of \u201cdumsor\u201d to the economy for 2014 alone to close to\u00a0GHC1 billion.<\/p>\n Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated ISSER’s position that if Ghana has been in the crisis since 2012, \u201cthen we are talking about a national loss of some GHC4 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that \u201ctoday, industries are folding up<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, workers are being retrenched<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, livelihoods are being lost, people are dying needlessly<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in our hospitals, our economy is in serious decline, all of which add up to the ravages of poverty and disease. These are not matters about which a nation can recover with the wave of a hand or with the resolution of the crisis of dumsor.”<\/p>\n \u201cHow does the resolution of the crisis of dumsor resurrect the many Ghanaians who have lost their lives in hospitals across the country? How does the resolution of the crisis of \u201cdumsor\u201d restore the livelihoods of the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs? How does the resolution of the crisis of \u201cdumsor\u201d restore the loss of productivity over the past three years?\u201d Nana Addo asked.<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cI know of a group of investors who have their factories around the Achimota Brewery, and who manufacture plastic products. They have closed shop and are leaving for Ethiopia. There are many, many such stories. Today, investor confidence in our country is at an all- time low. The GHC4 billion that this nation has lost to the crisis of dumsor can per the calculation of this government build about 60 senior high schools.\u201d<\/p>\n