We’re dealing with machines, things can fail – Prince David Osei on ‘dumsor’

Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei has spoken up about the recent intermittent power outages faced in Ghana, this time however, attributing the problem to that of ‘faulty machinery’.

Prince David Osei, who was one of the front runners in the 2015 #DumsorMustStop campaign during the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration, admitted to experiencing the recent outages, saying, “We all felt it.”

Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z on March 30, 2024, he cited the case of a recent power outage in Toronto, Canada, and said that the power outages currently being faced by Ghanaians were due to faulty equipment on the part of the power suppliers and distributors.

“The whole of downtown Toronto, Canada, went off recently. There was a blackout. So once you are dealing with equipment, you are dealing with machines, and things can fail,” he said.

Prince David Osei also referred to a publication by the Electricity Company of Ghana that the country has a stable national power supply and that power outages were due to ‘localised faults’.

“That’s what it said. That if you are experiencing an outage in your area, call a certain number. It could be it’s a fault within your neighbourhood,” he said.

He, however, encouraged the ECG to make a habit of informing affected citizens if there were going to be any outages in the future.

“If there’s a problem, then you tell the people. You tell them ahead of time. That there is a problem. We’re facing certain challenges, so this and this will happen,” he said.

The ‘dumsor’ palava

As far back as late 2023, Ghanaians in many parts of the country begun experiencing incessant power cuts without warning.

These outages, which worsened in 2024, cause disruptions to businesses and the daily activities of citizens.

This has led to some citizens concluding that ‘dumsor’ is back.

The ‘dumsor’ situation in 2015 led to a massive protest, which saw many celebrities including Yvonne Nelson and Prince David Osei partake.

However, many government officials have claimed the outages are not a result of ‘dumsor’. They also insist that there is no need for a timetable.

The problem was further worsened when the Minister for Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, challenged those calling for a timetable to come up with one themselves.

On March 28, 2024, the ECG, in a statement, said that it had resolved the issues causing nationwide power outages and announced that there is now a stable power supply in the country.

It apologized for the disruptions and directed those still affected to contact their local offices.

Source: GhanaWeb