Hundreds of people peacefully protested in Accra, Ghana on Saturday against power outages that have affected businesses and daily life across the West African nation.
Protesters dressed in red and black, with leaders wearing red berets, marched through the capital, calling on the government to stabilise electricity supplies.
Large crowds sang patriotic songs and carried kerosene lanterns to symbolize their plight, causing traffic jams in the evening.
Despite being one of the first African countries to aggressively electrify, Ghana suffers from chronic power shortages and is struggling to expand its electricity capacity to meet growing demand.
The protest, dubbed “#DumsorMustStop” – “dumsor” means power outage – was organised by prominent Ghanaian actress and film producer Yvonne Nelson.
“I feel the pressure and I'm here to speak out,” Nelson told AFP.
“These unannounced power cuts are killing our jobs. We need reliable electricity to thrive,” Ghanaian comedian DKB, who also took part in the protest, told AFP.
Ordinary Ghanaians also expressed dissatisfaction.
Shop owner Anita Tumasi was visibly upset as she described how the power outage had affected her six-month-old baby.
“My child cannot stand the heat. Every time there is a power outage I worry about her health,” she said.
Protesters blame the blackout on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government's failure to pay for necessary fuel.
Protesters held signs with slogans such as “Nuclear plants have failed our young people,” “No light, no progress” and “Electricity is a right, not a privilege.”
In gold- and oil-rich Ghana, electricity has become a key campaign issue ahead of elections in December.
A local barber, Kwame Danso, lamented that the erratic power supply has prevented him from doing business.
“Without lights, no customers, how are we going to make a living,” he asked, holding up a sign that read: “Stop the power outage and save our jobs.”
AFP
