Stop Creating Fear and Panic-IES Cautions Ministry of Energy

Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, IES Boss

The Institute of Energy Security (IES) has expressed unhappiness about the Ministry of Energy’s handling of recent vandalism of some power installations at the Tema enclave in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the Energy Think Thank, “Even though the IES believes that any form of sabotage to the country’s power installations must be condemned in no uncertain terms, the situation where political actors use it to cause fear and panic, and possibly win the sympathy of Ghanaians unnecessarily, is equally bad in taste.”

“The IES finds the posture of Mr. Damoah akin to that of the Minister in charge of the Energy Ministry, Mr. Peter Amewu, who last sought to suggest political sabotage into the hacking down of GRIDCo’s Transmission tower in Tema, even before state security institutions could collect evidence and start investigation into the matter.

“The IES is getting worried about the posture of government represented by the Energy Ministry towards recent acts of vandalism on energy infrastructure,” the IES said in a statement.

The statement, which was signed by Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, the Executive Director of IES, called on the Ministry of Energy to apologize to Ghanaians for deceiving them into believing that the pipelines under construction and filled with raw water were part of the accessories to the power sector installations.

Below is the full statement

WE DON’T NEED “FEAR AND PANIC” TO SOLVE DUMSOR

The Institute for Energy Security (IES) was enraged when news got to it through the
pronouncement of Nana Kofi Oppong Damoah, Head of Communication and Public Affairs at
the Ministry of Energy; that some determined persons who wish Ghanaians stay in the recent
power crisis for a longer period have torched a gas pipeline belonging to the Volta River Authority (VRA) at the Tema enclave.

By this news we quickly condemned the needless act and proceeded to visit the spot where the act is said to have taking place, only to find that the reported gas pipeline belong to Cirrus Oil Services Limited, and that it is parallel oil pipelines under construction, and filled with raw water.

The IES finds the posture of Mr. Damoah akin to that of the Minister in charge of the Energy Ministry Mr. Peter Amewu, who last sought to suggest political sabotage into the hacking down of GRIDCo’s Transmission tower in Tema, even before state security institutions could collect evidence and start investigation into the matter.

The IES is getting worried about the posture of Government represented by the Energy Ministry towards recent acts of vandalism on energy infrastructure.

While we condemn these acts by faceless persons, the peddling of falsehood by the Minister of Energy and his cohorts following these incidents, only amount to causing fear and panic among the citizenry. Even though the IES believe that any form of sabotage to the country’s power installations must be condemned in no uncertain terms, the situation where political actors use it to cause fear and panic, and possibly win the sympathy of Ghanaians unnecessarily; is equally bad in taste.

Dumsor by its own name is scary. “Dumsor is now a dreaded name in the country; synonymous with the subhuman “Dracula” who sucks human blood and spreads the undead curse along winding roads within the thick, dark and ancient forest and, over mountain passes”.

The Ministry of Energy must spare Ghanaians of “Wolf Cry”, and rather assure the nation of more sustainable measures put in place to curb the recurring and prolonged power outages caused largely by illiquidity in the sector; and not technical or sabotage by cause.

We call on the Ministry of Energy to apologize for deceiving Ghanaians into believing that pipelines under construction and filled with raw water are part of the accessories to the power sector installations, and that the destruction to the GRIDCo tower is a contributing factor to the
recent Dumsor.

The Ministry of Energy must desist from peddling further falsehood and compromising the work of the state security agencies in their quest to apprehend the criminals engage in the act of
vandalism. And that if it is privy to any political sabotage, the Ministry must make its evidence available to the agencies tasked to unravel such circumstances.