Following the closure of all offices in order to embark on a nationwide disconnection exercise to recover debts owed to individuals, private and public institutions, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Samuel Dubik Mahama, has stated that some people are dissatisfied with the situation.
According to him, he has received calls from some people including politicians, friends, and power brokers, among others to abruptly end the exercise.
He said all the calls that come through end with “can you hold [disconnection exercise] off?”
Making this known on JoyNews, Mr. Mahama wondered how his outfit will settle its outstanding debts owed Independent Power Producers (IPP), VRA, GRIDCo if it doesn’t retrieve unpaid debts from its clients.
He noted that the power distribution company risks shutting down if it doesn’t settle the $1 billion debt owed to some IPPs.
“How do we pay the Independent Power Producers? How do we pay GRIDCo? How do we pay VRA? It is a shared responsibility,” the Managing Director of ECG stated.
He added that “Please let’s just do the right thing because I don’t even have the moral right after sending somebody out of the office to pick up the phone and call him and say ‘hello, can you cut X, Y and Z slack? No’ then what is the moral of the exercise?”’
The ECG embarked on a nationwide disconnection exercise on Monday, March 20, 2023.
The exercise, which is expected to end on April 20, 2023, aims at retrieving GH¢5.7 billion debt from its debtors.
Meanwhile, Mr Mahama has indicated that all payments should be made through mobile money transfers or pay-in slips at the bank.
He stressed that ECG will not accept cash or cheques during the exercise.