President John Dramani Mahama’s speech to fishermen from the six coastal districts of the Western Region on Tuesday was disrupted for about 15 minutes due power outage.

The programme, which formed part of the President’s ‘Accounting to the people’ tour in the Western Region, took place at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hall at Fijai near Takoradi which plunged into darkness.

The leadership of the fishermen from six coastal communities, including Shama, Nzema East, Jomoro, Ellembelle Ahanta West and Sekondi-Takoradi, were first to be called by the moderator of the programme to present their concerns to the President.

After that President John Mahama was invited to make a speech and just as he was about to begin, the lights went off at about 6pm.

The public address systems were also affected which made it difficult for the President to communicate to the people.

President Mahama later took his seat as the technicians made efforts to find alternative means of helping the first gentleman of the land to communicate to the gathering.

The power outage delayed the programme for some minutes.

While some of the distressed people attributed the problem to power outage, others were of the opinion that someone might have tampered with some wires.
After some time, power was restored and the President continued with his address.

President Mahama, in his recent State of the Nation Address, claimed his government had resolved the power crisis, popularly called “Dumsor.”

The president’s assertion has however been contested by some energy experts, who have indicated that a lot more ought to be done to sustain regular and uninterrupted power supply.

Prior to the interruption, the fisherfolks complained bitterly about the cost of outboard motors being distributed to them at a subsidized price by government.

According to them, although hundreds of the machines had been made available to them, they could not afford them in the Western Region.

President Mahama was accompanied by the Minister for Fisheries, Sherry Ayyitey, Minister of Communications, Dr. Omane Boamah, Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Isaac Adjei Mensah, as well as other government appointees.

President Mahama earlier commissioned a number of projects in the region, and superintended over a ceremony to convert the Takoradi Polytechnic into a technical university.