Resolving ‘dumsor’: Give us definite timelines

 Captains of industry have asked the government to come up with timelines indicating short, medium and long-term solutions to the current power crisis.

They said the impact of the power shortfall on industry was so enormous that some companies had reduced production drastically while some workers had lost their jobs.

They also called for the creation of industrial zones for the manufacturing sector dedicated to businesses where companies could have reliable energy and supplies of other utilities.

Officials of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) made the suggestions in separate interviews on how they are coping with the energy situation in the wake of the power crisis.

Power producers and distributors have had to implement load-shedding management involving 24-hour outage and 12-hour power supply because of energy shortfalls that have bedevilled the country for the past three years.

The President of the AGI, Mr James Asare Adjei, said even though the association was yet to collect data on the effects of the crisis, the impact was enormous on industries, adding that information reaching the AGI indicated that industries were cutting down on production and staff.

He said the energy crisis and its impact on industry were becoming worse by the day, adding that it was becoming difficult for the association to see any solution in the immediate future.

In view of the situation, Mr Adjei said the AGI had proposed to meet the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, for an update on how the government was dealing with the energy problem.

“Such a meeting has become necessary because the pledge by the government to provide power barges in the first quarter of the year had not been redeemed,” he said.

As part of strategies to resolve the power crisis, the GCCI, for its part, proposed the creation of an industrial zone for the manufacturing sector.

Sharing the perspective of the chamber on the way forward, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Badu Aboagye, said a better lasting solution to the problem was the creation of industrial zones for the manufacturing sector.

Throwing more light on the industrial zone, he said the source of power for such a zone should be different from the one from the national grid.

He said in many countries, most industries operated in industrial zones where there was a constant supply of power through collaboration between the government and the private sector.

Mr Aboagye hinted that the chamber had received proposals from Turkey on how to establish an industrial zone, adding that it was still working on the proposals.

There was a relative improvement in power supply during the Easter period, but officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) say the situation was only temporary.

According to the ECG, 340 megawatts (MW) of power was still being shed daily, a situation which would continue to necessitate load-shedding management.

In a message in response to enquiries by the Daily Graphic on the power supply situation last Tuesday, the Public Relations Manager of the ECG, Mr William Boateng, said, “What I know is that we had some relief during the holidays but I’m not sure it will continue. For example, today we are shedding 340MW off peak. So there is no new timetable yet.”

In an interview, the Minister of Power, Dr. Donkor, said the relative improvement in power supply during the festive season was as a result of the fact that some industries shut down during the period.

That, he said, made it possible for what would have been supplied to industry to be made available for domestic use.

"As of now, we don't have any information on whether periods of outages will be reduced from the present situation. We can only make available information as and when we have it," he told the Daily Graphic in Accra.

The Akosombo Hydroelectric Power Plant supplies about 1,020MW of energy, followed by the Bui Dam, which produces 400MW, with the Aboadze Thermal Plant producing 360MW and the Takoradi Thermal Plant, 330 MW.

Kpong produces 160MW, while the country’s first solar plant at Punga in the Upper East Region produces 2MW, giving the country 2,272MW of combined electricity supply.

NHIS members to pay for services soon

The Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG) says it will be compelled to demand money from National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card holders if the arrears for services rendered are not paid immediately by the scheme.

According to the Executive Director of HISPAG, Mr Frank Richard Torblu, pressure from pharmaceutical manufacturing companies on the members of the association to pay for medicines supplied to them was unbearable.

“Now pharmaceutical manufacturing companies are demanding payment before releasing medicines to us and if we don’t look for urgent funds to pay them, our operations will be harmed,” he told the Daily Graphic after a workshop in Accra.

The workshop, which was organised by the Greater Accra leaders of HISPAG, discussed issues confronting the NHIS and how to address them.

According to Mr Torblu, although HISPAG had made attempts to discuss issues with suppliers WITH SUPPLIERS of medicines, they were hesitant in continuing to supply medicines on credit.

“This is because it takes a long time before the suppliers receive their money as a result of our inability to pay them on time due to government’s delay,” he said.

He said all the challenges the scheme was facing would be over if the government released funds on time to purchase medicines.

Touching on other issues, Mr Torblu called on the government to separate the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) from the NHIS to make the scheme more efficient and independent.

According to him, the NHIA needed to remain independent of the NHIS in order to function effectively, adding, “As it stands now, we do not know which one is handling the scheme”.

NPA closes down gas filling station at Dansoman

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has closed down the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) refilling plant at Dansoman in Accra which exploded on Easter Monday, causing the death of one person and several injuries.

The decision was taken in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ghana National Fire Service and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

The closure, according to the NPA, is to allow them evacuate the residual gas in the storage tank.

Some residents in the area have complained about the location of the gas station, saying it poses a serious threat to them.

They further pleaded with authorities to take immediate steps to safeguard lives and properties.

A press release jointly issued by the institutions in question, “Customers are therefore advised not to purchase gas from the gas plant in question until further notice.”

The press release also added that an Investigative Committee comprising officers from the regulatory bodies has been set up to undertake detailed investigation and report to the appropriate authorities accordingly.

Minister hires girl to get cabinet minister's nude photos - Murtala alleges

Minister hires girl to get cabinet minister's nude photos - Murtala alleges

 Deputy Trade minister Murtala Mohammed has alleged that a cabinet minister in the Mahama-led administration is making frantic efforts to set up a colleague cabinet minister.

According to the Nanton MP, the said minister has bought a tablet and a mobile phone for a lady friend of the other cabinet minister to enable her secure him nude pictures of his colleague.

“I ask those sycophantic elements to ask the said MP whether it is ethical to buy a tablet and a mobile phone for a lady friend of a colleague cabinet Minister to get nude pictures of that colleague of his, available WhatsApp messages, text messages and audio".

“Those sycophants have no idea where they r dragging him to. They should not push me,” the former deputy Information minister wrote on his Facebook in response to comments following his outburst on Tamale-based Diamond FM over alleged plans by some members of parliament from the Northern region to frustrate his political career.

He said although he regrets some of the comments he made in his interview with the station, he stands by everything he said about those he believes are scheming to get him booted out of parliament in the 2016 elections.

“I observed with regrettable coyness de numerous comments made on social media as well as on radio about my comments on Radio Diamond. Some of de comments are made by people who genuinely care for the truth and some unfortunately motivated by reasons known to their consciences. I had no doubt in mind that my comments were certainly going to provoke the kind of debate it provoked".

“For those who are genuinely hurt by my comments I sincerely apologise to them. But for de said MP and those who think like him, I have no apology for them not now and not ever”.

GMA's resignationthreat uncalled for- Haruna Iddrisu

GMA's resignationthreat uncalled for- Haruna Iddrisu

Employment and Labour Relations Minister Haruna Iddrisu says the threat by doctors to resign en masse if their conditions of service are not reviewed by June ending is "unnecessary and uncalled for."

The minister assured that Government is working assiduously to address the concerns of all health workers even before the June ending deadline is reached.

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) gave the June 30 ultimatum shortly after a meeting with the Labour Ministry, Wednesday.

Deputy General Secretary of the GMA, Dr. Justice Yankson says the absence of a collective bargaining agreement for the group was a violation of the labour law.

“We have gotten to a point where we say enough is enough", he said.

He said doctors, as a group of professionals in the country, cannot continue to work under the current conditions if Government as an employer refuses to provide appropriate conditions of service.

“We will resign and leave the health service to the Ministry and its agencies to run the way they want to run it because we think this is a big injustice”, he threatened.

The Association also expressed concern about why some newly graduated doctors were still not employed at a time when the country needs more doctors.

The doctors are wondering why Government would deny freezing employment into the health and education sectors and yet have graduate doctors sit at home.

But the sector minister told Joy FM's Super morning show host Kojo Yankson on Thursday there will be no need for the doctors to resign.

"I have given them my assurance and that of Government that for the first time in the history of the country the government is committed to concluding and signing onto a condition of service for all health service workers in Ghana," he said.

He wondered why the Association would be issuing such an ultimatum just a day after he had met with them and more importantly at a time its members are actually chairing a committee working on conditions of service for all health workers.

He added that he has continuously advised the GMA and other health workers against going on strike because they offer essential services and the lives lost as a result of their strikes can never be brought back.

The Minister also described as "unacceptable" the decision by the Ghana Health Service to keep doctors at home when their services are required in hospitals across the country.

He said the GHS has been instructed to issue employment letters to the affected doctors, adding, the practice in which the doctors are paid seven months after they are employed has also been reviewed and that the doctors will now be paid at least three months after they are employed.