President John Dramani Mahama has said he takes personal responsibility for the nation’s energy crisis christened in local parlance as ‘Dumsor-Dumsor’ which has crippled businesses and made life unbearable for Ghanaians.
According to the president, he would not blame any past presidents and governments for the current energy crisis, while assuring the public that the government was working around the clock to address the crisis.
“I will not blame any president or government for the energy problems. I will put all the blame on me, but I can assure you that we are working to solve the energy crisis soon,” he stated.
The president stated this over the weekend when addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of the Dormaa Traditional Area at Dormaa-Ahenkro to climax this year’s Dormaa Kwafie Festival.
The event, which was attended by people from all walks of life and characterised by pomp and pageantry, also coincided with the 15th anniversary celebration of the enstoolment of Dormaahene Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II and Odeneho Akosua Fima Dwabeng II, Dormaahemaa.
President Mahama indicated that government’s intention was to put the necessary measures in place to generate 220 megawatts of electricity each year in a move to meet the national energy demand. This, he said, would help to increase the current 2,800 megawatts to 5,000MW within the next three years.
$150m For Cocoa Roads
The president announced that Brong-Ahafo and five other regions, including Ashanti, Western and Eastern, would benefit from a $150 million package to improve roads in cocoa growing areas of the country to enhance socio-economic activities, particularly of farmers in those areas.
He said phase II of the Export Agricultural Development and Investment Fund (EDAIF) Cocoa Road Project Programme expected to start in September, 2015 would cover roads such as Dormaa-Kwame Asua and Atesika-Diabaa roads, among others.
President Mahama asserted that contracts under the EDAIF would not be interrupted as it used to be in the country because money would always be available for such developmental programmes.
He said Dormaa town roads would soon benefit from the package as well as the Kyeremasu-Gambia Number II and Twerefo-Danyame feeder roads.
Kwafie Festival
The Dormaa Kwafie Festival, celebrated biennially, is aimed at assessing the achievements chalked out of past socio-economic activities of the entire traditional area and strategise for the ensuing years.
The Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu, said the name ‘Dormaa’ emerged from the Twi phrase ‘do wo man,’ (literally meaning ‘love your town) during the olden days of inter-tribal war for supremacy and land acquisition.
He said the people of Dormaa conquered three chiefs in that era, but for the sake of peace particularly in modern day Ghana, no name of a defeated chief was mentioned in that context.
Osagyefo said the people of Dormaa and its environs had witnessed many developments in the area since his enstoolment, thus creating employment opportunities for the jobless.
He mentioned the construction of school blocks, health facilities, and the establishment of a brick and tile factory among others as his achievements, promising that with the support of his traditional leaders, he would make sure his administration chalked more successes in the next ten years, especially in education.
He expressed appreciation to President Mahama for establishing a campus of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) at Dormaa.
He however appealed to the President to help the University with more infrastructural facilities to enhance teaching and learning.
[email protected] 
(Selorm) | 
(Nana Kwesi)