Black outs

All regions of Accra are subject to the same schedule. ECG published the schedule a couple of weeks ago and it has kept to it more or less for our area. A friend did complain of being off for over 40 hours a few days ago so not sure if some areas are suffering more than others

Hi,  is it true that the blackouts will end next month or is that just hype, can you give me some basic information for when I arrive, such as---- how much to buy a sim card, how much dose it cost to send a text message both local and overseas, how much dose it cost to make both local and international phone calls--is it cost per minute or cost per bracket,  how much dose the internet cost--usb stick usage and 24/7 home internet. how much dose a cappuccino or latte cost, and what about take away food such as hot chips etc.  what sort of cost are generators there and what sort of cost are off grid solar panels, deep cycle battery converters etc. How much is the basic wage for a local person and how much is are higher wage for professionals because I see through reading post that is is very different for locals and expats.
Here is some Australian news for the Queensland state, we are just recovering from a minor earth quake and two cyclones--marcia & lam, cyclone marcia was a category 5 and did huge destruction along the north Queensland coast destroying and damaging 1000's of home which may be without power for some weeks--50 thousand homes without power, no human lives have been lost this time and animal welfare rescuers are still dealing with 1000's of displaced, injured animals and removal of dead animals.

There is a post about cost of living in Ghana so you can get a lot of information from that.
It is easy to get a SIM card here, you just have to decide which provider you want. Phone calls are relatively cheap, local are about 5 peswas a min and overseas depends on the country. I use Airtel and ring my mother in the UK for about 40 mins on a Sunday and pay about 5 cedis.
Internet use is quite expensive as you pay for every megabite. You will need to shop around when you are here for a package that suits your needs. I suggest you look at the websites of the internet providers here and the phone companies and compare their rates.
Coffee is 6-10 cedis, and chicken and chips 16-20 cedis
Inverters and batteries depends on what you want to power. If you just want ligts and fans then you might do it for 2000+ but if you want general household use - fridge, TV etc then you will pay considerably more.
If you are recruited outside the country then you can expect an expat salary which is considerably more than a local can earn. If you get a job here it is local hire and it will be considerably less and generally without any perks. You can't work here in any capacity without a work permit and your employer has to get that

Sorry about the people who have suffered during the latest cyclones and hope the season is not too severe this year

hkann wrote:

All regions of Accra are subject to the same schedule. ECG published the schedule a couple of weeks ago and it has kept to it more or less for our area. A friend did complain of being off for over 40 hours a few days ago so not sure if some areas are suffering more than others