Features
ECG is not a ‘father Christmas’ or charitable institution!
Electricity is one of the major determinants of economic prosperity of any country in the world. It plays a significant role in undertaking daily activities from cooking, lighting, heating to powering machines in the industrial sector. This facility is essential also for quality healthcare delivery, education, transport, effective communication, mineral exploration and many more. In effect, it serves as a building block on which every sector of a nation’s economy thrives. This in essence, emphasises how crucial and indispensable electricity has been in the existence of human in the 21st century.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited, like other essential service providers in our dear nation, is a very important institution as far as the developmental goal of this country is concerned. Without electric power, everything in this country will grind to a halt and it will affect the general cost of living and well- being of people nationwide. The same applies to water which is the twin brother of electricity. Even to pump water to various homes and public institutions, much will depend on electricity to power the generating machines. The importance of these two essential facilities therefore,cannot be overestimated in the country’s development.
ECG AND ITS MANDATED DUTIES
The ECG by law, is mandated to provide quality, reliable and safe electricity services to support socio-economic growth and development of Ghana. The company has over the years, been able to carry out this laudable mission notwithstanding the occasional challenges it encounters in the execution of its duties.
It is a limited liability company wholly owned by the government and operates under the Ministry of Energy. The company is responsible for the distribution of electric power in the southern part of Ghana, namely, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Volta and Western regions. The company has over the years grown and transformed into a more effective distributor largely as a result of foreign technical and financial assistance which has enabled it to invest in various areas to improve the quality of the network. It has focused on building many distribution lines and installation of prepaid metering services both domestically and to various institutions across the country. This company has stood the test of time and on the verge of focusing on becoming a regional power trader to grow itself.
CHALLENGES ECG FACES
Although the company is confronted with major challenges such as high level of distribution losses, lack of revenue due to non-payment of bills, poor tariff structure which makes it difficult for the power utilities to make significant investments to improve the sector due to financial constraints, it has to a very large extent live up to high level of expectation.
Currently, there are quite a sizeable number of public institutions that are indebted to the company of millions of Ghana Cedis, thus depriving it of the needed revenue to meet its operational expenses in terms of modern generating equipment and other logistics as well as providing adequate remunerations and service conditions for the workers. On the list of the debtors are, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We are informed by news circulating on social media that the Finance Ministry owes the company to the tune of GH¢421,038.02, the National Stadium, GH¢587,087.37, La Palm Beach Hotel, GH¢196,073.62 and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), GH¢48,985,505.41. We are told also that recently, the National Taskforce of the ECG Limited, cut power supply to parts of the Kotoka International Airport and the other places as a result of their outstanding debts to the ECG.
UNSCRUPULOUS ECG WORKERS MILKING THE COMPANY
It is, indeed, shameful and regretful that the top management of ECG have relaxed and kept aloof while some state owned and profit making enterprises continue to exploit them to their advantage in huge arrears in electricity bills. Such an unfortunate situation is a total indictment on the leadership of the company and a mark of inefficiency.
It is also a known fact and in the public domain that some unscrupulous workers of the company have turned themselves into contractors and engaging themselves in illegal businesses such as the sale of meters at high prices to prospective applicants and also involved in illegal connections of electricity to interested people, thus depriving the company of the needed revenue. Some of these fraudsters. engage in such illegal businesses with the connivance of some top-level management personnel of the company. Such illegal, unhealthy and fraudulent practices must be checked to enable the company to stand on its feet.
RECENT DEMONSTRATION BY ECG WORKERS
No wonder, there was a recent demonstration by some aggrieved workers of the Accra East branch of the ECG in protest of the continued stay in office of the managing director of the company even though he had attained the retiring age of 60. Clad in red, the workers picketed at the company’s head office in Accra to register their protest and also to demand the removal of Mr. Kwame Agyeman-Budu, the MD from office.
The protesters, led by the divisional leadership under the Trades Union Congress (TUC), noted that the presence of the MD was an illegal invasion of the company’s property, adding that he had to proceed on leave prior to retirement because he had clocked 60 years. They wondered why he was still holding himself as the MD and signing official documents. The aggrieved workers argued that he attained 60 years on February 21, 2021.
ACCUSATION AGAINST THE MD
In a statement, the workers accused the MD of not handling the affairs of the company well since he was appointed. They claimed that his continued stay in office, would collapse the electricity distribution company because to them “he is grossly deficient when it comes to matters relating to administrative and corporate governance”. They further accused him of breaching procurement processes. “A clear example is the award of contract of six substations where the recommendations of the evaluation committee were side-stepped and awarded to other companies,” they alleged in their statement.
It appears that the workers are not comfortable with the continued stay in office of their MD and the appointing authorities need to step in to resolve this thorny issue before they throw this country into total darkness. Their grievances need be studied critically and weighed against the performance of the MD before any extension of his contract is considered.
INVESTIGATION OF WORKERS’ GRIEVANCES
In the midst of huge unpaid debts by some state institutions to ECG while the company needs money to finance its operational costs, one will be convinced to jump to a conclusion that the managing director is either not up to the task or being manipulated from certain quarters not to chase the debtors for what is due the company.
One particular case that most Ghanaians are not happy and uncomfortable with is the case of the Ghana Airports Company Limited which owes the ECG a colossal sum of GH¢48,985,505.41 which necessitated the recent curtailing of power in parts of the Kotoka International Airports in Accra. They wondered why the company had to spend about GH¢128,366 to buy Christmas trees to decorate the airport terminals in the midst of the debt it owes the ECG.
EFFECTIVE PAYMENT OF BILLS NECESSARY
It is a fact that the ECG and other utility service providers in the country rely on the effective payment of bills to provide reliable and continuous services to their clients and customers and, therefore, failure in the payment of bills renders the company impotent in providing that essential services to customers. That will result in frequent power cuts which will be no fault of the ECG. It is important for state owned and private institutions as well as domestic power users to pay their bills promptly to enable the company to serve them better. Let us take note that ECG is not a charitable institution which provides its services free of charge.
Finally, to restore the needed peace and tranquility within the premises of the ECG, the appointing authorities must act with dispatch to resolve the impasse between the workers and the managing director before any unfortunate incident happens.
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By Charles Neequaye
THE state of feeling rejected, could be a terrifying experience especially for those who have become used to fame. If not properly addressed, it could lead to depression and the consequences, could be disastrous.
When you are on top of your game in whatever profession you find yourself such that you become famous, a lot of people try to associate with you. The phone never ceases to ring and one is tempted to feel loved and very important.
When a disaster strikes and the fame or the money which was the source of the attraction fades away, the circle of friends and fans begin to shrink and the phone will start to stop ringing until the call stops voting completely.
You will be shocked at how people you considered friends, will no longer be calling you or pay casual visits as they used to. You will begin to notice that messages you leave after calling them and not getting a response are not replied to and that is when you begin to know who your true friends are.
One of the most popular movie stars was an actress called Sharon Stone. In an interview with one of the media houses that was published, she spoke about how people who should have come around to encourage her in her moment of depression, shunned her. The calls stopped coming.
This is what the Bible admonishes that the arm of flesh will fail you and therefore we should put our trust in God. It could be a very frightening experience and can easily lead to depression.
Human nature being what it is, people will want to get close if things are okay. Everybody wants to associate themselves with interesting things, famous people, rich people etc for mainly selfish reasons.
We need to develop the habit of putting our trust in God and relying less on human beings. The lesson we have to take along in life is that, no one marries his or her enemy so how come people who took vows that they will love each other become so hostile to each other that they want to go their separate ways in life? Such is the reality of life.
It is therefore prudent for people to recognise that, life is full of uncertainties and so there is the need to prepare your mind for uncertainties so that when they occur, they do not disorganise your mental sanity.
A lot of people have experienced situations where people who they could have sworn will never betray their trust have disappointed them when they were through challenging moments.
If there is one thing famous people should desire, it should be the ability to identify who are true friends are. Countless stories abound regarding incidence of celebrities who have lost their shine and their wives divorcing them soon after.
It is sometimes useful as a famous or rich person to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to safeguard or protect yourself from any future unpleasant surprises.
People can be very pretentious these days, it goes both ways. There is this real life story where a man married a divorced wealthy woman and convinced her to sell her house so they could build a new one together, with the excuse that people are gossiping that he is being housed by a woman.
The woman agreed and they put up a new building. After a few years the man asked for a divorce, only for the woman to realise that the land on which the building was situated, was bought in the man’s name.
This can drive a person insane, if you are not mentally tough and this happens to you. When people hear that you are homeless, a lot of your so-called friends will stop calling, so that you do not become a burden on them.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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‘But, er …. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. Then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
We got back in the car at eleven forty-five.
‘So where are we going, Paul?’
‘To Royalty restaurant. It’s a twenty minute drive away’.
‘So, do you enjoy your job?’
‘Most certainly. I won’t change it, not even to be President. And am I right to say that you are preparing to enter the university?’
‘That’s my plan. I hope it works’.
‘It will, if you are determined, and disciplined. You look very much like a disciplined person’.
‘Thank you very much’.
We arrived at Royalty in twenty-five minutes, ‘You are joining me for lunch, Paul’.
‘Thanks for the honour, Sarah. But the bill is on me’.
‘Aren’t you taking on too much for one day?’
‘I never do anything that is bigger than me, Sarah’.
Over the next hour and a half, we discussed fashion, local and international politics, and sports, as we ate and relaxed. Finally, he drove me to the shop.
‘I will never forget you, Paul’.
‘I’m glad to have been helpful. But if you don’t mind, I’ll say it again, your husband is extremely lucky. You are really beautiful’.
‘Thanks again. But do you mind if I call you sometime in the future?’
‘Certainly not. Let me write it here. I will not ask for your number, for obvious reasons. But I will be looking forward to hearing from you. And hopefully, I will see you next month, when I call to drop your bill’.
‘Okay Paul. See you then’. What a lovely day, I said to myself as I opened the front door. I closed the shop and got home by seven. I went straight to the bedroom, stood in the mirror and took a good look at myself. ‘You are a very beautiful woman, Sarah. Never forget that’. I will not forget that, again.
Over the next several weeks, Martin and I had very little to do with each other. In the morning he ate his breakfast and after a shabby ‘I’m going’, he left. He came home around eight at the earliest, ate his dinner and, already soaked in beer, went off to sleep.
He spent the greater part of the weekends at the club house with his friends, playing tennis and partying. My mind was focused on furthering my education, so I didn’t complain to him, and didn’t bother to inform my parents about what was happening. I had decided that I would only take action if he lifted his hand against me again. I spent my free time reading all manner of interesting stuff on the internet, and chatting with my sister on WhatsApp.
One evening, he came home at about eight, rushed to the bedroom and rushed out. An envelope, obviously containing money, dropped out of his pocket, and I picked it up and followed him. I was going to call him and give it to him, but I noticed that there was a young woman in the car, so I went back in, counted it and put it in a drawer in the hall. He came back after some ten minutes.
‘Excuse me, I dropped an envelope containing money. You must have seen it’.
‘Yes, I saw it. Actually, I followed you, and was about to call you and hand it over to you when I realised that there was a woman in the car, so I came back in. I counted it. One thousand cedis.
‘Well let me have it. I have to be going’.
‘I will let you have it if you will tell me who the woman in the car is, and why you are going to give her that amount of money’.
‘Listen, if you waste my time, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Give me the money now!’
‘Here’s what we will do, Martin. I know you will give money to her anyway, so I will give it to you, if you will withdraw the threat you just issued. But I want you to know that I will be taking some steps from tomorrow. Things are getting out of hand’.
‘Okay, I’m sorry I threatened you. Can you please give me the money’. I handed it over to him, and he ran out’.
The following morning, I waited for him to finish having breakfast, and told him I wanted to have a word with him urgently.
‘You better be quick. You know I’m going to work’.
‘Well, I want to inform you that I will inform my parents, and your parents, about the situation in this house. As I said yesterday, things are getting out of hand. You spend most of your time drinking. You get drunk every evening, and through the weekend. And you are also spending your time and money on a prostitute’.
‘How dare you? One more stupid word from you …’
‘Am I lying, Martin? You have just started life, yet you are behaving like a rich, elderly man who has already seen his children through university, and can afford a life of fun. As I said, I’m going to inform our parents. Maybe your parents can straighten you out before it is too late’.
‘Look, we can talk this evening. It’s nothing like what you are saying’. He walked away, shocked.
That evening, I was expecting to have a meaningful discussion with him, but his mother called early in the evening to offer me some ‘advice’. Her son had called to say that certain developments at home were disturbing him so much that they were beginning to affect his work.
And, ‘as a loving mother to her daughter’, she was advising me to submit to my husband, and support him in prayer, and not ‘drive him from home’. Men would always be men, and she was telling me ‘from experience’ that no matter how much time Martin stayed away from home, he would always come home to me.
She had been a young wife before, so she understood the challenges I was facing. So I could be assured that if I followed her advice, all would be well. And, of course, she didn’t allow me to tell my side of the story.
Martin came home very late, and very drunk. And from the next morning, he carried on as before. With some hesitation, I called my dad and told him all that had gone on.
‘Well, my daughter. I’m not going to say “I told you so”. I was only trying to protect you. So here’s what we’ll do. Continue doing the best you can, and try not to give him any excuse to harm you, but if things continue to deteriorate, I will take you back.
A couple of days later, my cousin Dinah arrived in Accra from Brussels, having completed her medical course. With Martin’s agreement, I went to Koforidua and spent a couple of days. I spent most of the time chatting about her experiences in the US, but we also discussed my relationship with Martin, and she endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if Martin’s behaviour did not change after two weeks Elaine informed Mom and Dad. We endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if there was no change in two weeks.
Dinah returned with me to Takoradi. Her plan was to spend a couple of weeks, and return to Accra to be posted. I called Paul Allotey, and asked if he would meet her for lunch and, if possible, show her some interesting spots. Delighted, he suggested that we meet at Royalty the next day.
I told Martin about it, to remove any possibility of future disagreement over ‘going out with men’.
‘It’s fine with me’, he said, ‘if, of all the people who could show your sister round this town, you chose a borla man. Doesn’t that indicate the kind of person you are?’
‘ First of all, Martin’, I’ve spoken to him a few times, and he comes across as a decent guy, so I think it is rather unfortunate that you are writing him off when you don’t know him’.
By Ekow de Heer
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