Minister sets up committee to investigate ECG fire outbreak
A Seven-member committee of inquiry has been inaugurated to investigate the fire outbreak which ravaged the warehouse of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at Oduom Bebre in the Ashanti Region late last month.
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The committee, chaired by Mr Charles Nii Adama Akrong from the National Security, is expected to identify the circumstances which led to the fire outbreak.
It is also charged with the responsibility of assessing the safety standards, regulations and security of the warehouse for the storage of electrical materials.
The committee will also assess the value of materials destroyed at the storehouse and determine any other matter relevant to the proper and efficient management of the depot.
Committee members
Other members of the committee are: Mr Yahaya Enusah from the office of the National Security Council; Nana Samuel Brenya, Ghana National Fire Service; Mr John Addo, Ghana Institution of Engineers; Mr Raymond Cimpi, Ghana Police Service; Mr Kwei Mensah Ashidam, Ghana Insurers Association, and Mr Richard Agbotame, Secretary and the Legal Counsel at the Ministry of Power.
The committee has been given 10 days to complete its work.
It was inaugurated by the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, in Accra yesterday
In his address, Dr Donkor charged members of the committee to work assiduously to help unravel the mysteries surrounding the fire outbreak.
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According to him, the biggest challenge facing the power sector is money, adding that “at a time when the sector is bleeding, we cannot sit down for such incidents to go on.”
He expressed confidence in the ability of the members of the committee to carry out their mandate.
Background
It will be recalled that on December 21, 2014, fire gutted a warehouse of the ECG which led to the destruction of about 21,000 prepaid meters and accessories belonging to the company in the Ashanti Region.
Following that, the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, directed the board of ECG to immediately interdict some senior management members in the region believed to have had a hand in the issue.
Dr Donkor named the acting General Manager, Mr Emmanuel T. Akinie; the Asokwa District Manager, Mr Yakubu Harrison; the Regional Commercial Manager, Mr Michael T.B. Boadu; the GEDAP II Prepayment Project Manager, Mr Kwadwo Ayensu; the Materials and Transport Director, Alhaji Daubi Alhassan Jango, and the Project Accountant, Mr Samuel Ofori, as the persons to be sanctioned.
In spite of that, the board of the ECG said it could not execute the directive by the minister, as that amounted to interference which was inimical to the company’s code.
However, Dr Donkor stated that since the company belonged to the government, the ministry had the mandate to intervene in situations that would affect the nation negatively.