ECG workers in Accra, Oda protest against privatisation of company
Employees of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region and the Accra East Regional Office of the company yesterday staged separate peaceful demonstrations against the privatisation of the company by the government.
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The placard-bearing demonstrators, who wore red armbands, with red scarves around their necks to show that they were furious, amid drumming, singing and dancing, backed their action with a sit-down strike.
The demonstrations were planned to mark the celebration of the Public Service International Day.
Demonstrators
At Oda, the protestors chanted slogans such as: “NDC government, pay the huge debts owed ECG”, “Stop privatisation of ECG”, and “No foreign investment is needed in managing ECG”.
They also invoked curses on anybody who would spearhead the privatisation of the ECG and threatened to campaign against the President Mahama-led NDC in the November 7, 2016 general election.
The Spokesperson for the demonstrators, Mr Charles Yeboah, said the ECG workers were against the privatisation of the company because it would lead to the dismissal of employees, with its attendant socio-economic problems for them and their dependants.
He said the workers’ contention was that if the government paid the huge debts it owed the ECG, the company would be able to operate efficiently and to the satisfaction of all.
Accra demontration
In Accra, the protesting workers, for two hours, converged on the forecourt of the ECG’s Accra East station, singing and chanting war songs.
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They held placards with messages such as: “Mr President, think about the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian”, “Concession is not the best solution to the power challenge”, and “Power Ministry, stop buying meters for us; we can buy our own meters”, among others.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the National Secretary of the Senior Staff Union of the ECG, Mr Patrick Tetteh Binyemi, said the workers staged the demonstration to register their displeasure at the government’s intended privatisation of the company.
He contended that listing the company on the Ghana Stock Exchange would be a better option.
“There are capable Ghanaians who can manage this company. We don’t want foreigners. Our problem now is with the invisible hands; there is a lot of interference from external sources in our operations as a company,” he alleged.
“We don’t understand why we started a two-year strategic business unit in the Ashanti Region on a pilot basis, to be replicated in other regions based on its success, and just six months into the initiative, the government wants to hand over the company to foreign investors without waiting for a proper assessment of the initiative,” he said.
Mr Binyemi said privatisation would lead to loss of jobs, as the concession was for 25 years.
He said the new owners, according to the agreement, would have the liberty to cut down the size of the workforce after the first five years.
Mr Binyemi reiterated that if the government settled its indebtedness to the ECG, which he said constituted about 40 per cent of the company’s debt, “we could turn around the fortunes of this company. Surprisingly, the government has indicated its readiness to pay its debts to the new investors but it is not ready to clear its debts with the current managers,” he alleged further.