Dumsor Hits Manhean, Afuaman

Residents of Manhean, Afuaman, Oduman and Peace Village in the Ga West Municipal Assembly, Greater Accra Region, are reeling under a multi-day power outage, known in Ghanaian parlance as dumsor.

Today understands that almost on a daily basis the above communities experience power outage—sometimes during the day and in the evening.

In the case of a power cut during the day, the paper learned that it lasts between six-seven hours.

And when the blackout occurs in the evening most parts of Manhean, Afuaman, Oduman and Peace Village, the residents intimated, experience total darkness—an invitation for armed robbers to carry out their nefarious activities in these areas with ease.

According to the residents, the power cut which started in the month of October, this year, has reared its ugly into this month (November), making things worst for especially small business owners who depend largely on electricity.  Furthermore, households are being made to contend with the discomfort associated with power cut.

A Landlord in Peace Village, Samuel Bekoe, said the blackout was making life unbearable.

“We cannot freeze our foods anymore except those who can afford to buy fuel for generators,” he said

The situation, Today gathered, is crippling economic activities in these communities where many artisans such as hair dressers, mechanics, sound technicians, electronics, welders and caterers, and petty traders depend on electricity for their operations.

A Mechanic in Oduman, Efo Emma, lamented that he has lost some patronage because of the blackout.

In Manhean, for instance, Today discovered that many cold store operators were indeed bearing the brunt of the on-going power outage in the area. While some are compelled to throw away their spoilt fish, chicken amongst other meat, other operators who spoke to this reporter hinted of closing down their shops.

Though the residents affected have lodged several complaints at the Ablekuma office of the Electricity Company (ECG), the blackout persists.

They residents averred that they were fed up with the situation, with many taking the position to soon rally their neighbours to march to the ECG office at Fan Milk to demand for answers regarding why their areas are on daily basis plunged into darkness.

“In fact, while we are not assured of stable power for one day…what we are certain of and bedevilled with is that the power will go off during the day,” a Landlord at Manhean, Nii Aryee, told Today.

A welder at Afuaman, Edward Mensah, who was completely livid, described the situation as a mixed bag of frustration and anger.

Mr. Mensah cannot fathom why there has been no official communication from the ECG to the affected communities since the problem started in the second week of October.

In his estimation, all that the power company (ECG) is interested in is to rake in loads of money from the ordinary Ghanaian consumers—it’s clear and obvious the state agency does not care about us!

In the wake of the blackouts, the affected communities urged the ECG to find a lasting solution to the problem.  However, they warned that should the problem persist they would be left with no option than to march to the Ablekuma ECG Sub-station at Fan Milk!

Source: Ato Keelson, todaygh.com