The NPP Minority in Parliament has strongly rejected President John Dramani Mahama’s claim that he successfully resolved Ghana’s power crisis during his previous administration.
At a press conference in Accra on March 3, 2025, former Finance Minister and MP for Karaga, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, accused the President of misleading Ghanaians about his handling of the energy sector, arguing that Mahama’s record on dumsor remains one of the worst in the country’s history.
According to Dr. Amin Adam, Ghanaians endured more than four years of severe power outages under Mahama, leading to massive job losses and economic downturns describing the President’s attempt to claim credit for resolving dumsor as revisionist and misleading.
“Mr. President, you did not fix dumsor as you claimed in your address. Your record on dumsor is abysmal, unlike your predecessor, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who kept the lights on,” Dr. Amin Adam stated.
The Minority argued that under Mahama’s first term, power shortages crippled businesses and industries, with thousands of small enterprises collapsing due to unreliable electricity. They noted that the problem persisted despite multiple promises from the NDC administration, including the creation of a Ministry of Power in 2015.
The opposition further criticized the Mahama administration for failing to properly manage the energy sector, accusing it of making poor contractual decisions that continue to burden the country. They urged the current administration to be honest with Ghanaians about the state of the power supply and to introduce a load-shedding timetable to help businesses and households plan effectively.
“We the Mighty Minority call on the government to publish a load-shedding timetable to help people and businesses plan effectively. We have seen the return of electric generating sets in shops, clinics, and at social events – a clear sign that dumsor is back,” Dr. Amin Adam added.
The Minority noted that the power situation has worsened since Mahama’s return to office, despite his campaign promises to stabilize the energy sector hence the need to urgently publish a load shedding table to guide businesses and Ghanaians as a whole on how to plan their lives.
Dr. Amin Adam also blamed the current challenges on energy contracts signed under the Mahama administration, particularly take-or-pay agreements that forced the government to pay for unused power, leading to massive financial losses for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
He said the bulk of ECG’s debts came from excess capacity payments because of take-or-pay energy contracts signed by President Mahama. These payments, he explained could not be reflected in electricity tariffs since PURC allows for only the cost of energy consumed, not the cost of contracted energy thereby leading huge energy sector debts.
They maintained that despite inheriting a troubled energy sector, the Akufo-Addo administration successfully managed power supply and ensured a more stable system for years.
This, they warned that if the government fails to act quickly, Ghana’s economic progress could be reversed, with industries and small businesses bearing the brunt of the power crisis. They called for a long-term strategy to permanently fix the country’s energy challenges and ensure reliable electricity for all.
