I Don�t Need Any Praise Singers�My Duty Is To Serve

The sleepless nights are officially over and President Mahama can now enjoy his sleep without paying much attention to the erratic electricity supply in the country. His contribution to solving the power crisis can�t be easily brushed aside considering the effort he put in to resolve the issue. However, President Mahama has stated that he does not want to be hailed for doing what was legally required of him. The president was addressing journalists� questions at the Flagstaff House during a press meeting to mark his first year in office. The meeting was themed �One year of responsible, transparent and accountable governance�. Responding to a question on the energy crises that characterized 2013, President Mahama said the crises were not because of his first year in government but due to the inability of previous governments� inability to add to the power grid. Nonetheless, he said, his duty as leader is to fix and find solutions to problems confronting the nation and therefore does not need any praises for his efforts to resolve the energy crises. In May last year, President Mahama inaugurated one of the generating units for trial and to also cushion Ghanaians against power rationing which became known as �dumso dumso�. The commissioning of Ghana�s second largest hydroelectric generating plant at Bui in the Brong Ahafo Region, has added an additional 400 megawatts of electricity to the existing power supply. President Mahama explained that assets and liabilities were always the dogma inheritance of newly elected administrations. And it is on this score that he told journalists who interacted with him at the Flagstaff House during the commemoration of his First year in office that he is not interested in the tunes of praise singers. �I�m not saying anybody should celebrate us for solving the energy crisis. It is the duty of government to ensure that there is adequate power but it takes years to deliver every single power plant. The crises we faced is not a crises caused by Mahama�s first year of government but a crises of adding enough generation over a long period of time.� �And so I accept that we have an energy crises and I must do something about it. I can blame previous governments and I�m doing something about it. That�s all, and I don�t expect to be praised for that,� President Mahama noted. President Mahama expressed optimism about 2014, noting that, �I believe 2014 is going to be a good year and it is going to be the start of good things for Ghana.�