Ghana promises end to black outs

Government claims three-year power crisis at an end.

The Ghanaian government has announced an end to the power outages that have caused severe difficulties for the country's residents and businesses over the last three years.

The government says that the power crisis, which began in 2012, has now been resolved thanks to increased power capacity as well as effective power rationing, according to a statement on 30 December.

Ghana has allocated additional funds to manage the nation's energy supply which it says has been strained by greater demand from consumers and businesses. The situation has also been compounded by insufficient water for hydroelectric power plants and inadequate gas supplies for turbines.

The regular power cuts, lasting up to 24 hours, have crippled trade, education and healthcare, resulting in an abrupt economic downturn and disgruntled voters. The crisis has led to protest marches, comedy skits and a Twitter campaign #DumsorMustStop, based around the local slang word for power cut, “dumsor”.

Many Ghanaians hold the country's president John Mahama personally responsible for mismanaging the nation's economy and energy supply, as the power crisis has coinicided with his presidency.

In February Mahama, of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), promised he would fix the power problem by the new year, before he seeks re-election in November 2016. Mahama is expected to face a tough fight from opposition candidate Nana Akufo Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPD), who he beat narrowly in the 2012 elections.