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Opinions of Monday, 24 July 2017

Columnist: Kwaku A. Danso

Dumsor and electricity problems in East Legon

Dumsor in Accra Dumsor in Accra

I had an almost fire disaster last Saturday in my East Legon House complex and a friend asked a question this morning that led to a long response. Once an engineer always an engineer in thinking.

I know the cause from long experience in America and solving it quickly!
God dei! (As a late friend would say). The friend asked: "Dumsor still at East Legon?"

The truth is that I have seen only 4 electricity interruptions lasting sometimes 30 minutes, in 13 days since I arrived; and that is a lot of improvement compared to previous years in the 2000s and even up to 2016. I calculated about 99.38% on-time instead of the standard expected 99.99% range. Not too shabby!

I think It is now the transformer that needs upgrading as the LOAD IN THE AREA DEMANDS UPGRADE!

The Ghana constitution should be amended to allow each town to elect their own council and caretakers! Every house here deserves to use air conditioning and that is what Engineers do: PLAN FOR THE NEEDS OF THE CONSUMER!

However in Rawlings Ghana we still live in here, we are looked on as elite bourgeoisies and hence no planning was made for a bigger transformer station for the Legon/Madina/Adenta area here which includes East Legon!
It is simple MISMANAGEMENT of priorities and twisted logical thinking of the 1980s!!

I pay Ghs 100 every 2 days when in Ghana and that comes to about Ghs 1,500 per month! I never complain because I can afford it! And I cannot live here and sweat like a dog at my age! No way!!
But in the eyes of Dr. Kwesi Botchwey /Ahwoi's /Tsikatas/PVObeng/JerryRawlings, in the logic of the 1980s, I am an enemy of the Revolution!

It is this nonsensical thinking that all men are created equal and hence should live the same and share the same that led to the split in global politics and some world wars! Socialists and Capitalists, and that was also part of the reason Kwame Nkrumah was hated so much by the UP folks of the royals and kings, in the early part of our independence, because they thought the man wanted to bring socialism to Ghana! All the hatred could be attributed envy and then to this ideological differences in world view!

Now that America has proved in the last 100 years that managed capitalism or free-enterprise system under the rule of law is the way to go, see that mighty China has picked themselves up economically so well in just about 35 years!

The 1980s ERA OF HATRED:

The 1980s brought an atmosphere of envy and jealousy in Ghana where some hungry Legon and other University lecturers joined a mere armed revolt that was treason, overthrowing an elected government. From Dec.31, 1981, Ghana was in a free fall never to recover! We are trying, but even oil that helps the Middle Eastern nations, due to the evil nature of our society, we cannot even make a dent with the moneys from oil and minerals!

So in the mind of the ordinary Ghanaian those of us mostly professionals who have lived overseas bringing our money to build in East Legon, plus a few who have made it genuinely on their own in Ghana (and of course a few cocaine dealers like woman in prison in UK), we here are enemies! Construction Workers who come here try to undercut material and steal and do shoddy work! And Chaotic Ghana does not even know how to test and license these workers!

Example, do you know I have replaced the Concrete parking lot in front of my house twice in 12 years and this time ensuring proper work (to the best Ghanaian workers can do) to ensure proper cement ratio and even iron rods!

So the situation in East Legon is a mess!! I have enough technical evidence to convince a Judge that ECG should be sued and made liable but even Lawyers in Ghana are so cowardly it hurts! One Lawyer last year I had my staff go and see could not even be decent enough to tell me his mind and never gave us a feedback!

I am really sick and angry at the level of evil mindset in Ghana and now know exactly why we are so poor and now rated 5th dirtiest nation on earth and 2nd in open defecation! Soon we may be like Haiti! And that goes to the many Churches with many evil people faking as Christians!

Electricity may be complicated for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, but let me ask you: Has the new President and cabinet even thought of eliminating the open gutters in Ghana?

- Has anybody talked about how dirty Ghana is and strategy and plan to clean Ghana?

Does anybody care about the number of malaria related deaths in Ghana every year (est 100,000) and road accidents from our poorly constructed roads and highways?

How dare us think Tourists are even going to return to Ghana or recommend our nation if we don't take this serious!

I weep for Ghana, and for the black man and now we know why the white man took us for granted some 600-700 hundred years ago, and now the Chinese also!