The Editor of the Business Finder newspaper, Toma Imihere, has said government and its supporters are attempting to divert attention from the power crisis by labeling the celebrities leading the DumsorMustStop campaign as members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He indicated that it was no surprise when some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) accused the celebrities of working for the largest opposition party since the members of pressure group, OccupyGhana, suffered the same fate.
“Yes, they will be tagged but just like in the case of occupyGhana, we all know that when government is on the defensive, they will definitely try to turn the issues away from the substance,” he said.
“In this case, government and the supporters are simply trying to divert attention from the substance and defend themselves by claiming that there is a political agenda.”
A group of celebrities led by actress Yvonne Nelson and hiplife artiste, Sarkodie have criticized the Mahama government of ineptitude in their quest to solve the energy crisis.
The group has gained support from the general public but they have received several attacks from some government functionaries and some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) both on social media and through phone calls. But Yvonne Nelson and her group say their determination to get the government to fix the problem will not waver despite the attacks.
Speaking on Citi FM, Toma Imihere said the celebrities “have every right as a professional grouping to register their complaints. Their argument is that it is affecting their profession and if they are coming from that angle, I think they have every right to do it.”
The President of IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe on his part pointed out that the celebrities and Ghanaians are quite angry at the government” because of the way the political class come to the table with some explanations – sometimes with even outright insults which is wrong because there must be an admission and this is why I think the issues of policy coherence must come into play.”
“I’m happy President Mahama has stopped giving timelines but we also need to be clear that when you are going to make statements on a very difficult crisis, you’ve got to be sure about what you are really saying.”
The IMANI boss argued that the complaints of the group must be heard because “it’s a different crop of voices which I think ought to be heard.” “The shenanigans about venue; probably they should have done their homework quite well but I think what every home is experiencing is dumsor.”
Meanwhile, financial analyst, Sydney Casey-Hayford was of the view that “if the celebrities decide that they want to march and they want to do it in their own way and their own style, whether it’s by vigil or by burying a casket, or whatever, they have every right to do it so long as they don’t offend the sensibilities of other people.”
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