General News of Saturday, 17 January 2015
Source: Starrfmonline.com
State power distributor Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is on the brink of collapse, Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has said.
“We are on the brink of collapse if we do not have cash infusion and yet we are owed hundreds of millions of cedis. This, ladies and gentlemen, cannot and must not be allowed to continue,” the Pru East MP said at a public event recently.
It is estimated that ECG is owed about Ghc500 million in accumulated debt by both state institutions and private firms.
Some domestic consumers also outwit the company by connecting power illegally to their homes and not paying for them.
Speaking recently, Dr Donkor said: “As a nation, we cannot afford to let this valuable asset we call ECG collapse. It will be most irresponsible of us, and we will not allow that.”
“The management and board are determined that going forward, we’ll have a lean, efficient, commercially sensitive and aware organisation that will ensure the survival of the organisation,” he promised.
He gave Government’s support to the Company towards efforts in retrieving all old and current debts owed ECG.
“On the back of this today, as the minister responsible for the sector, I put the weight of officialdom behind ECG to collect not only current bills, but accumulated debts,” Dr Donor stressed.