On Thursday, Ghanaian radio presenter Nathan Kwabena Adisi, popularly known as Bola Ray, conducted an interview with Samuel Dubik Mahama, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), on Starr FM.
The focus of the discussion was the recent disconnection of power supply to Parliament during the House’s deliberations on the 2024 State of the Nation Address, which was presented by President Akufo-Addo on February 29th.
The host, Bola Ray asked Mr Mahama, “Why did you do that, Parliament was in session. They were debating the State of the Nation Address and you got your men out there to disconnect the arm of government. Why so?”
Mr Mahama replied with a question. He said, “Parliament was working. What was ECG doing?”
Quickly, Bola Ray responded “ECG was working.” The host was definitely ready for Mr Mahama’s dismissive response.
He said, “Okay, next question”, implying that Parliament’s work is not more important than that of the ECG.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Clerk of Corporate and Financial Management Services Division in Parliament, Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, has refuted claims that Parliament is indebted to the tune of GH¢23 million to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
On Thursday, February 29, 2024, there was a power outage in Parliament House and Job 600, the office complex for Members of Parliament, attributed to the purported GH¢23 million debt, as part of the ongoing “Operation Zero Balance” initiative by the ECG.
In an interview with Citi News, Mr. Ahumah Djietror clarified that Parliament does not owe the stated amount, asserting that the house has been making payments. He acknowledged occasional discrepancies, citing failures in the ECG’s system to accurately record the payments.
According to him, Parliament made a GH¢13 million payment on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, reducing the outstanding debt to approximately GH¢12 million.
He emphasized that they possess records of all payments made as evidence.
He said, “As far as we are concerned, we’ve made payment, all the payment we have made, some have not reflected in their system, that’s what I’m saying, some do not reflect in their system. We have a breakdown, so we showed it to the Deputy Managing Director, we are just coming from his office. I said they should reconcile the account. We are going to get the bank to extract all the payments we’ve made in terms of the dates. I’m not sure how it’s captured, so there’s a gap in terms of the reconciliation as to what is the outstanding bill.”
Mr. Ahumah Djietror expressed the situation in Parliament as unfortunate and assured that efforts are underway to reconcile the accounts and settle the outstanding balance.