{"id":2628,"date":"2026-04-28T12:05:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/?p=2628"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:31:02","slug":"minority-blames-govt-for-dumsor-demands-full-implementation-of-esrp-and-immediate-payment-of-ipp-debts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/index.php\/minority-blames-govt-for-dumsor-demands-full-implementation-of-esrp-and-immediate-payment-of-ipp-debts\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO: Minority Blames Govt for Dumsor, Demands Full Implementation of ESRP and Immediate Payment of IPP Debts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ACCRA, April 28, 2026 \u2014 The Minority in Parliament has accused the NDC government of causing the current power crisis, insisting that \u201cGhanaians are not fools\u201d and that ongoing outages are not due to routine maintenance but the administration\u2019s failure to implement the Energy Sector Recovery Programme (ESRP) it inherited.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a strongly worded statement on the worsening power situation, the Deputy Minority spokesperson on the Energy Committee, Hon. Collins Adomako-Mensah said the government was \u201cmanaging crisis through spectacle\u201d instead of solving what he called a deepening energy emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Lights Are Out Because Government Failed\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lights are out because this government failed to implement the recovery plan it inherited, not because of engineering schedules,\u201d the Minority said, rejecting government explanations linking outages to transformer upgrades and planned maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement argued that Dumsor predates the incident at Akosombo on 23rd April 2026. \u201cThe lights were already going out across Ghana before anything happened at Akosombo. They were going out because this government let the sector decay,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five-Point Demand<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minority issued five demands:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Implement the ESRP without further delay<\/strong>: The Energy Sector Recovery Programme must be \u201cfully and faithfully implemented\u201d with a public timeline verified by independent parties. \u201cEvery further week of delay deepens the financial deterioration that is producing the operational failures Ghanaians are experiencing,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Clear outstanding IPP obligations immediately<\/strong>: Noting that Independent Power Producers \u201ccannot sustain capacity under conditions of chronic payment default,\u201d the Minority called on government to \u201cpublish the full quantum of outstanding IPP obligations and provide a binding, publicly available payment schedule with credible external verification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Commission a national infrastructure safety audit<\/strong>: \u201cGhanaians own this infrastructure. They are entitled to know the current maintenance and operational status of every critical node in Ghana\u2019s transmission and distribution network,\u201d the Minority said, warning that financial neglect may have left substations and control facilities in \u201ca state of disrepair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Minister must appear before Parliament<\/strong>: The Minority demanded that the Minister of Energy appear before the full House to brief MPs on generation and transmission capacity, outstanding IPP debts, the status of the ESRP, and government\u2019s \u201ccredible, costed, and time-bound plan to end Dumsor.\u201d \u201cParliament\u2019s oversight mandate is not optional. It is constitutional,\u201d it stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Ensure due process for suspended officials<\/strong>: Addressing recent actions against the ECG CEO and Ashanti Regional leadership, the Minority said investigations must be \u201ctransparent\u201d and \u201cevidence-based.\u201d \u201cIf culpability is established, the law must take its course. If it is not, those officials must be fully and publicly exonerated,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis government must not sacrifice public servants on the altar of political optics while its own ministers escape accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cManaging by Misdirection\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minority described government\u2019s recent actions as \u201cchoreography of an administration desperate to be seen acting while refusing to confront the true author of this catastrophe: itself.\u201d \u201cSuspending a CEO, reshuffling a regional management team, and calling a press briefing are not an energy policy,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement blamed the NDC government for abandoning a \u201cworking recovery plan\u201d left by President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia. \u201cThey were going out because the ESRP was abandoned. They were going out because IPP obligations went uncleared, revenue shortfalls went unaddressed, and the Minister told Ghanaians that darkness was actually the light of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vow for Parliamentary Scrutiny<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGhanaians are not living in darkness because of what happened on 23rd April 2026. They are living in darkness because of what this incompetent government has done \u2014 and catastrophically failed to do \u2014 every single day since it assumed office in January 2025,\u201d the Minority said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It pledged to \u201cpursue full parliamentary scrutiny of this energy crisis through every constitutional avenue available,\u201d adding: \u201cWe will not allow this government to extinguish accountability as easily as it has extinguished the lights of Ghana.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Energy Ministry had not responded to the statement at the time of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch video on AEYE TV Here<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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