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Take advantage of moratorium, rectify meter status – ECG tells customers
Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has encouraged customers to take advantage of the moratorium it has declared to audit meters countrywide to avoid brushes with law.
The one-month moratorium is from June 7 to July 7, 2022, and will afford customers to report to ECG District and Regional Offices for rectification of post-paid customers who have meters but do not receive bills.
It extends also to prepaid customers whose meters are faulty, customers who have by-passed or tampered with their meters and are, therefore, not paying for the full cost of power usage as well as those who have engaged in any form of electrical illegality.
“Please note that after this moratorium, customers who are caught stealing electricity, which is criminal, will be charged with the offence of stealing in accordance with the law and their names shall be published widely,” Director, Customer Services of ECG, Mr Abraham Anokye Abeberese told journalists at a news conference at Takoradi in the Western Region on Wednesday.
The meter audit, he said, was part of a field survey to be done by ECG officials to update customer information.
Mr Abebrese explained that after the expiration of the moratorium, a Task Force would be visiting premises to effect the exercise and hoped customers would comply with the new directives.
He added that “when the teams visit, they will leave slips for customers who might not be at home to indicate their telephone numbers for further directions”.
Again, he indicated that future bills would also be sent through SMS text messages.
The ECG Customer Service Director told journalists that in line with Public Utilities Regulatory Commission benchmarks, the company was desirous to deal with about 30 percent losses.
He stressed “ We want to seal the leakages and so we want all customers to participate in this exercise because the commercial loss is the worry.”
From Clement Adzei Boye, Takoradi
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
