Ghana is currently facing electricity problems as some places could experience blackouts for some hours.
Lack of electricity negatively affects households and businesses.
The darkness in some places has sparked a lot of reaction on various social media platforms with others saying Load Shedding, commonly known as Dumsor is back.
Speaking in an interview with United Television (UTV) monitored by Elvisanokyenews.com, some traders in the capital city of Ghana, Greater Accra bitterly lamented how the electricity problem is affecting their businesses.
According to them, the situation has led to slow patronage of their businesses.
One woman said, lack of electricity forced them to close early which according to her affected their income and the growth of their businesses.
“From Sunday to Friday, we experienced blackouts so we had no other option than to buy a generator. Whether we make sales or not we have to buy fuel and it is worrying, very disturbing. We are in a new year and business is slow and when there is blackout, we are forced to close early in the evening” The angry woman lamented.
Another woman also expressed concerns about their safety.
She said the area where their business is located is a very dangerous place because armed robbers attack them when there is no electricity.
“Sometimes some of the items melt so you need a fridge to make it freeze but there is no electricity and we don’t know what to do and this area too is very dangerous so blackout doesn’t help us” She said.
One business man on the other hand called on the government to release a load-shedding timetable to help them plan well if their problem persists.
“If it is load-shedding commonly known as dumsor, they should let us know. Everyday they say gas and it is affecting our business and the economy in general. They should release a load-shedding timetable that will allow us to plan better.” He said.
“What saddened me is the first January, a lot of customers were here and there was no electricity so they all ran away. could you believe we couldn’t sell even GHC100 items for the whole day? if they release load-shedding, we can plan well to avert this loses” One lady added.
“I don’t have money to buy a generator, when customers come to shave I ask them to go back. We are appealing to the government to put in place measures to solve the electricity problem.” One hairdresser also lamented.
The former Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah has called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to as a matter of urgency release a load-shedding timetable.
“Compounding the situation is the absence of a load-shedding timetable, which hampers households and businesses from planning accordingly. The lack of transparency and communication regarding the power outage schedule only adds to the frustration and inconvenience experienced by the affected population.” He said.
Meanwhile, the government has assured that measures are in place to solve the long standing electricity problem.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
