ECG on warpath to retrieve money owed by govt institutions, others

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is on a warpath to retrieve money owed it by government institutions and others.

Consequently, the national task force of the company has served disconnection notices to the Ministry of Communications, the Economic Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and other institutions demanding settlement of their debts or face disconnection.

The other institutions are Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and National Information Technology Agency (NITA).

Debt

The institutions are owing ECG over GH¢8,213,239.42.

A breakdown of money owed by some of the institutions are Ministry of Communications GH¢5,080,752.37; UNDP, GH¢558,014.13; NITA, GH¢1,543,113.42; the Internal Audit Agency, GH¢545,740.68; Kofi Annan ICT Centre, GH¢208,318.50 and EOCO, GH¢277,300.32

According to the ECG Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Accra East Region, Mary Eshun-Oppong, the task force served notices to the institutions in Accra on Thursday and gave them three working days to settle their indebtedness.

She said if after the three working days ultimatum the institutions failed to settle their debts or make significant payments, then they would be taken off the national grid.

“If by Monday, April 11, 2022, they do not settle their debts, then we have no option but to disconnect them,” she said.

Notices

Ms Eshun-Oppong indicated that demand notices had also been served on the Internal Audit Agency and other institutions to pay their debts to avoid being disconnected.

She said the task force was set to visit 29 institutions to demand payment of debts.

They include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, University of Ghana, embassies, and some media houses, adding that the team would also visit individuals and private institutions that owed ECG.

The PRO noted that the task force would also inspect the status of ECG meters in customers’ premises to apprehend customers that had engaged in illegal connections.

She, therefore, appealed to customers to pay their bills to avoid disconnection and desist from engaging in illegal connections.