The US Embassy‘s claim that the Electricity Company of Ghana is inefficient in the processing and collection of bills is merely to hasten the process for the concessionary sale of the ECG to an entity the Embassy has an interest in.
This is the belief of the Director of Operations of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nana Ofori Owusu.
According to him, the Embassy’s keen interest in the Compact II agreement has caused it to assume a position of smearing ECG and its workers to cause public and government dissatisfaction with them.
The US ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson last week said that the failure of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to furnish the Embassy with a bill for the past two years in spite of its willingness to pay, demonstrates the inefficiencies in the operations of the company.
His comment was to confirm an earlier statement by the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko that the ECG was being badly managed to the extent that the Embassy had not been provided with a bill for its power usage over the last 2 years.
“American Embassy has 160 facilities in Ghana. They have not been billed for two years. So they went to ECG and said ‘look, we owe you money. Bring us a bill. Bring us pre-paid meters. We will use it for one year, and whenever we use, we will multiply it by 3 and give it to you. Up to now, the ECG hasn’t been able to do that,” Mr. Agyarko said.
But the Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU) in a response to Mr. Agyarko challenged his statement and told him to stay away from such “minor” issues and focus on providing strategic directions for the company.
The brouhaha many say, may be linked to the controversies surrounding the Millennium Power Compact II agreement government signed with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an independent United States government agency that has as part of the terms, government giving the ECG on concession to a private company.
But according to Mr. Ofori Owusu, that is indeed the case.
He told Umaru Sanda Amadu on The Big Issue that “the US ambassador’s statement all of the sudden at a time when there is a heavy discussion on the Compact and that it must be reviewed and renegotiated all of the sudden comes to fire negative fire against the ECG for what reason. What is his motive? Painting the dog black so that it can be hanged.”
He also accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government supporting the US government to hand the company out to a private company when government could resort to a more challenging option to proving strategic direction for the company to make it profitable.
Meanwhile, May 23 has been set for the bidder’s conference to announce the private entity taking over part of the.
The six firms or concessionaires shortlisted are:
1. MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY ORTIGAS AVENUE, PASIG CITY 0300 PHILIPPINES
2. CH GROUP/ EDF SA/LMI HOLDINGS/VEOLIA SA, 1 ALEMA STREET, AIRPORT RESIDENTIAL AREA, P. O. BOX AN 8743, ACCRA-GHANA
3. ENGIE ENERGIE SERVICES, SA, PLACE DES DEGRES 92800, PUTEAUX, FRANCE
4. BXC COMPANY GHANA LTD/ XIAOCHENG TECHNOLOGY STOCK COMPANY LIMITED /SHAANXI REGIONAL ELECTRIC POWER GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, P.O. BOX CT 8365, CANTONMENTS, OKODAN ROAD, ACCRA-GHANA
5. ENEL S.P.A VIALE REGINA MARGHERITA 137, 00198 ROME, ITALY
6. THE TATA POWER COMPANY LIMITED/CDC GROUP PLC, CORPORATE CENTRE “A” BLOCK, FOURTH FLOOR, 34 SANT TUKARAM ROAD CARNAC BUNDER MUMBAI -400 009 INDIA
Source: Citifmonline.com
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I think the government should abrogate the deal, postpone the conference on May 23, 2017 indefinitely and go back to the drawing board. The sector minister, Hon. Agyarko should not be amaurotic of the details of the issues at stake before going public. The government should allow prepaid meters to be installed in all MDAs, etc residencies of its appointees, and pay the amount owing to ECG. This will put more money into the coffers of ECG for its operations. We need to be serious in this country in making decisions to benefit the entire populace not the few.
KUFUOR`S GREEDD AND SENSELESSNESS HAS CREATED ALL THIS PROBLEMS. HE WENT INTO THAT CHILDISHHHH DEAL AND NOW PART OF THE DEAL WAS TO GIVE THE REVENUE OF ECG TO THEM. THE DAY WE GIVE THEM ECG REVENUE DEPARTMENT THE DOLLAR WILL SHOOT TO 100,0000 CEDIS TO 1 DOLLAR AND IN FOUR MONTHS IT WILL SHOOT TO 500,000 CEDIS TO 1 DOLLAR. BECAUSE ALL THE PREPAID WE BUY IN THIS COUNTRY WILL BE CHANGED INTO DOLLARS AND EVEN KWEKU BARKO THE SEMI EDUCATED WILL REALIZ OUR MISTKE. IT WILL TURN THIS COUNTRY UPSDE DOWN. IF THEY WANT TO BURN THIS COUNTRY LET THEM BURN IT, WE DONT HAVE TO SHOOT OURSELVES
LOOK OJAM, no amount of money can be used to buy the future of this country. we will not sell ECG OR ANY PART OF IT. WHY THE REVENUE SECTION? THE WHITE MAN IS SOO STIWWPID HE DOESN`T KNOW HOW TO STEEELL WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT. BECARFUL!
OJAM, YOU ARE TOO SIKK TO MAKE ANY TANGIBLE COMMENT. SHUT THE HEL-OP. YOU MAKE ME SIKK!
IF NANA LUSES HIS ENIRE SENSES AND ALLOW THIS DEVELISHHH DEALL TO GO THROUGH HE AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY WILL NEVER KNOW PEACE. HIS FATHERS BETRAYED US BUT SOME OF US DECIDED TO FORGIVE THEM. IF HE GOES THE WAY HIS FATHERS WENT HE WILL BE SORRY HE EVER BECAME THE LEADER OF THIS COUNTRY. IT IS ONLY AND ONLY A ***barred word*** FULLLLL WHO WILL EVER THINK OF SELLING ECG`S REVENUE DEPARTMENT TO ANYBODY. THIS IS SUCH AN INSULT I HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD BEFORE.
Initially, I tought the PPP was a serious party. It however appears to me that some of the guys who speak for the party as comparable to Hassan Ayariga. They are so pathetic!