The Ministry of Energy says comments by the sector minister Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh regarding recent power fluctuations have been misconstrued.
In recent times, there have been incessant power cuts particularly in the cities of Kumasi and Accra, a situation many say is wrecking havoc on their businesses and therefore, demand the publication of a timetable to help them plan their activities.
However, Dr. Opoku Prempeh, in an interview with the media, took on those asking for the timetable.
The minister questioned their motive for insisting that a timetable be published when the power provider, the Electricity Company of Ghana said the situation does not necessitate a schedule.
He asked them to publish their own load-shedding schedule if they feel the need for one.
When asked whether the situation is a crisis, the minister failed to admit or deny but said that it was worst under the erstwhile Mahama administration.
His comments have sparked widespread backlash, with some describing them as insensitive.
But in a statement responding to what it said is a spin around of the minister’s comments in the interview, the ministry argued that the comments have been distorted.
“The rather innocuous statements of the minister as captured by the interview have been distorted to portray him as being insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians,” it said.
“The minister has always been sensitive to the plight of the Ghanaian people and continues to ask for their forbearance, as has always been the case when challenges relative to power stability emerge”.
The ministry stated that Dr. Opoku Prempeh only re-echoed the electricity provider’s position that the cause of the fluctuations is temporary and is being addressed and was not insensitive as being portrayed.
It also justified the Minister’s comparison of the current situation to the one under the erstwhile Mahama administration, stating that Dr. Prempeh was reacting to the opposition NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama’s recent comment on the matter, which he (the minister) believed was aimed at scoring political capital.
