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Claim: Several social media users claim George Opare-Addo (Pablo), Ghana’s minister of Youth development and empowerment, threatened to introduce an application for electricity load shedding (Dumsor).
Verdict: Misleading. Although Opare-Addo made the statements, DUBAWA’s checks revealed that the interview took place in April 2024, when the New Patriotic Party was in power.
Full Text
Ghana’s struggle with unstable power supply does not look like ending anytime soon. Several locations across various regions were experiencing power supply issues and blackouts in April, 2026. There were several complaints and concerns about the situation on traditional and social media.
Although no apparent cause of the unstable power supply was established, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition promised that it is not due to a gas shortage.
In the uproar over unstable power supply, Facebook Reel by Friends of Okatakyie Afrifa- Mensah claimed that Opare-Addo, leader of NDC’s youth wing and current Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, at one point, suggested the launch of an application for “dumsor.”
The reel with 77,300 views, 967 likes, and 361 shares raised concerns when Opare-Addo made such statements, especially during a period when the unstable power supply was occurring under his party’s tenure in power. Find another post with the same excerpt and the same narrative on Facebook here.
Similar claims were shared on Instagram, suggesting that after plunging the country into darkness, the current government is promising an app for dumsor.
“Dear Ghanaian populace, after dragging the country into DUMSOR mess, George Opare-Addo, Minister of Youth Development of the NDC, announced launching Dumsor App. This simply means DUMSOR has come to stay,” a user, mcquaim.me, captioned with the same excerpt on Instagram.
DUBAWA decided to probe further to ascertain whether Opare-Addo made such remarks and when he did.
Verification
To verify this claim, DUBAWA had to first establish whether Okatakyie Afrifa-Mensah indeed interviewed Opare-Addo. DUBAWA’s check reveals that the interview indeed took place during the events leading up to Ghana’s 2024 election.
The interview happened on Angel Broadcasting Network Ghana’s Angel Morning Show on Angel FM 102.9 on April 24, 2024. Find the full interview from 2:00:00 to 2:49:00 here.
Opare Addo touched on several issues concerning Ghana’s economy at the time, eulogised John Mahama, and gave Ghanaians reasons he deserves to be reelected. He spoke on “Dumsor” from 2:35:45 to 2:44:20.
He specifically stated the efforts of NDC youth to develop a dumsor app from 2:42:30 to 2:44:20 as a “citizens’ response” to power shortages and instability at the time. He mentioned this as the NDC’s efforts to inform citizens about updates to their electricity supply, since the then energy minister had refused to provide substantive details or measures to curb it.
“So next week, we will be launching the dumsor app, and once the app is launched, we expect citizens to participate,” he said.
Given that the interview happened in April, 2024, it is misleading to attribute it to recent power supply disruptions.
Conclusion
Although Opare-Addo made the comments in the video shared by several social media users, it is misleading to circulate it as though it is related to current power supply issues. The excerpt is from an interview from April, 2024 .
