Parliament found itself enveloped in darkness on Thursday after the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) disconnected power due to outstanding bills totaling GH₵23 million. The Chamber Block experienced a temporary blackout during the debate on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation address.
Members of Parliament resorted to using their mobile phones for illumination as the minority caucus vocalized their frustration with chants of “dumsor, dumsor” to symbolize the recurring power outages. Eventually, power was restored to the chamber through a standby generator, but occupants of Job 600, which houses MPs’ offices and some staff, remained in darkness.
The blackout also trapped several individuals, including journalists, in elevators, leading to a swift response from engineers and officials from the Ghana Fire Service stationed in parliament who successfully rescued them.
Earlier, the minority caucus had urged the government to release a timetable for the ongoing load shedding (dumsor) to allow citizens to plan accordingly.
In response to the recent power challenges, Hon. John Abdulai Jinapor, the NDC member of parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, attributed the situation to poor economic management by Nana Addo and Bawumia.
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Contrastingly, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, the NPP member of parliament for Damango, argued that the current power outages are an improvement over those experienced during the John Mahama administration.
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Story by: Osei Akoto(Teacher Kojo) #Ahotoronline.com
