Dear President Mahama,

I do hope you are doing well. I read in the papers that you are in New York for the UN General Assembly and I also saw a photo of you with an official from the Millennium Challenge Account … talking business. That smile of yours was pretty presidential. Sadly, I’m unable to show off such a smile to the public. My face is caked in anger, thanks to the ongoing blackouts or “dumsor” that this country has been plunged into.

Ahead of the 2012 election, you promised to end the erratic power interruptions should you become President. You were clear, “dumsor” would NEVER happen under your watch. I’m sure you have not forgotten that promise. But just in case you have forgotten, here is a transcript of what you said on the campaign platform.

“… In the second NDC administration (the next NDC administration, our second term), which will surely come, tsooo bueii, the issue of load shedding will be a thing of the past. It will NEVER happen again!”

Mr. President, those were your exact words. And you knew exactly what you were promising and were under no illusion as to the potential votes that statement could fetch you. Who wouldn’t like a ‘dumsor’-free state? Even lovers are complaining that the ‘dumsor’ situation has adversely affected their sexual lives … the heat, they complain, has prohibited the different styles and patterns they often explore behind closed doors.

I know, “dumsor” is not your portion. You only read about it in the newspapers. At best you hear about it on your preferred Adom FM radio network. I don’t begrudge you that especially as you deserve to be properly taken care of as the First Gentleman of the land. However, you also owe a duty to your people to ensure that a certain amount of comfort is extended to them. But the opposite is happening!

It has been more than a year and your promise has not been carried through. Are we to believe it will happen? When? And please don’t tell me there was no timeline to the promise. And, is it also safe to say it was a campaign promise meant for party fanatics gullible enough to swallow anything that came their way? Obviously not!

You must redeem that pledge, sir. How do I pay for electricity (in advance) and yet cannot enjoy it? I have lost count of the number of times I have been without electricity, though I have fulfilled my portion of the bargain by recharging the card. So where did I go wrong? It’s annoying, to say the least.

Also, businesses are suffocating under the current conditions. Several companies, unable to meet the demand for backup energy, have asked some of their workers to go home. The repercussion for families is enormous. There is the likelihood that children of those retrenched workers could drop out of school, if the situation does not normalize sufficiently for their employers to call them back.

This is not the state Kwame Nkrumah envisaged when he said that the “Blackman (Ghanaian) is capable of managing his own affairs.” The current situation makes nonsense of what I now consider a ‘dead’ prophesy by Osagyefo Dr. Nkrumah. It should now read the “Ghanaian Politician in Power is Incompetent of Fixing the Self-Created Mess” the country finds itself in.

How come we are unable to get a grip on the situation? How come those engineers employed, and paid, to fix the problem are not thinking right? Is it a question of the politicians meddling in their work? And if YES why can’t they come out and say so or even resign to save their credentials? Oh forgive me, I almost forgot that in this country people don’t resign, even when they’ve been caught doing the wrong thing.

Mr. President, there are calls for the Energy Minister, Mr. Amarh Kofi Buah, to be sacked because he’s shown gross incompetence in managing the issue. Critics say he hasn’t got ‘the balls’ to pull us out of the deadwood. I’m not sure dismissing him is the solution to the problem but he must take a long hard look at himself and make the right decision. He should focus on being an MP instead of pretending to be an ‘energy expert.’ He may be good elsewhere but not in his present position.

The energy ship is sinking and it is extremely important that you, as the Captain, begin to redirect the affairs before we hit an iceberg. Remember the Titanic??

Also, I would like to know from you whether or not you have been reading the reports about the “GREAT WALL OF BURKINA”, built at the exorbitant cost of US$600,000 and supervised by the man appointed by you as Ambassador to Burkina Faso. That is what an official from the Bank of Ghana told the Public Accounts Committee and I have no reason to doubt him. That story broke before you left town so I assume you are aware.

I think you should put your foot down and crack the whip on this one. The ambassador should be summoned by you and made to fork the money back into the state kitty. This is sheer wickedness and naked robbery. Are you not embarrassed by such brazen acts of thievery by some of your men, Sir?

Doesn’t this reckless thievery betray the proposal to the International Monetary Fund, for them to give us a bailout, because our economy is suffering? The IMF is not Father Christmas to give you their monies for free. Obviously, they will call for certain measures, including job cuts, which will hurt the already depressed worker. And how do you think that sacked worker will feel knowing that a wall to fence a non performing embassy cost that much? If indeed it did.

Look at the revelations at the commission investigating the World Cup fiasco in Brazil? The state resources were freely dissipated by those who, more than four or so years ago, could not even afford to buy recharge cards for their mobile phones but now sit on top of piles of money and can afford to cough out US$20,000 to a faceless nameless Angolan, in Brazil, for giving them directions to a supermarket to buy ‘KOOBI.’ Ah ah!

Where is the sincerity? Where is the pledge to protect the public purse? How do you people feel driving around town and seeing all these jobless youths hawking chewing gum and other items in the middle of the street? Is there no compassion from you people? Are we no longer our brother’s keeper?

Mr. President, most of those that you have entrusted with positions are busy emptying the coffers. It is the truth, sir. They are the ones happily whispering to their own inner circle that you are NAKED and they are secretly rejoicing about it. It helps their cause to feed you with lies, while your butt is out there in the open with everyone taking a dig at it.

They will ask to be shown evidence, for incontrovertible proof, a rather cheap way of getting away with their spoils but please don’t allow them to fool you. Remember that when it comes to the crunch, it is your name that will be mentioned. And how would you want to be remembered when that time comes?

Enjoy your stay in New York.
Sincerely Yours,
An unhappy Ghanaian