We'll not honour any invitation - ECG tells Ashanti Regional Minister

The brewing tensions between the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region and the Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, appear not to be ending any time soon.

According to the National Vice Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, Bismark Adomah the power distributor, will not heed any calls from Mr Osei-Mensah until he apologises for mistreating their area manager.

Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on April 25, he said they had already turned down an invitation extended by the Minister and would continue to do so until the minister does right by them.

“He [Osei-Mensah] wrote to us on 9th April inviting our four general managers on Regional Security meeting on yesterday, April 24.

“I signed the letter and I have it here, and I said that in view of what is going on, our general managers are not attending the meeting yesterday and subsequently until this issue is resolved, any invitation, they will not come.”

“As long as we have issues with him, every meeting he will invite them [to] no matter how it is they will not go.”

This follows a misunderstanding between the company and the Minister, which escalated after a regional manager of ECG was arrested for disconnecting electricity to the Kumasi Technical University.

Mr Osei-Mensah reported the Ashanti East General Manager, Ing.

Wiafe.

The Minister has refused to render an apology, alleging that he was performing his duties and that the ECG cannot teach him how to go about it.

According to him, the ECG had agreed with the Kumasi Technical University to settle their debt within an agreed time-frame.

Mr Osei-Mensah argued that his decision to report the ECG Ashanti East General Manager, Ing.

Wiafe, to the police was due to the management's breach of agreement in a payment schedule with the university.

The Minister’s comment, interpreted by the National Vice Chairman of the Senior Staff Association, as the minister demanding that each time they are embarking on a revenue mobilisation exercise, they must seek his permission is unacceptable.

Read also: Ashanti Regional Minister defends arrest of ECG boss, rejects calls for apology

Mr Adomah argued that the school in question ensured that they paid half of the amount they owed a day after their disconnection.

He added that it meant until the power distributor undertook strategic actions, many individuals, although they have the funds, would refuse to make payments.

“He [Osei-Mensah] said he is the head of the Regional Security, he should tell us the statute which says that before ECG will go and disconnect somebody, we should come and inform him,” he quizzed.

“The same team who came from Accra and disconnected, they disconnected the central market why didn’t he talk about that one.

Parliament house was disconnected was our MD arrested?

“And when we disconnect them [KTU], the following day Friday around three o’clock they came and paid half of the amount they are owing us.

So why are they are they keeping the money?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, Mr Adomah said the National Executive Council (NEC) will meet and decide on their next course of action.

“The NEC will meet and take action but for now any meeting the minister will invite them, we will not attend," he stressed.

Despite the situation, he reiterated that the power distributor was committed to ensuring satisfying their customers.

“We will not do anything which will affect our cherished customers in Ashanti region,” he added.