Ghana’s Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has incurred the wrath of the workers of the area’s ECG for orchestrating the arrest of the Ashanti East Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Mark Wiafe Asomani.
The Minister allegedly ordered the arrest of the manager a few days ago after the ECG’s National Revenue Mobilisation Taskforce disconnected the electricity supply to the Kumasi Technical University for unpaid bills.
The action of the Minister infuriated the entire workforce of the power distribution company in all its operational areas.
On Wednesday, the workers of ECG hoisted red flags in all their operational areas in protest of the Minister’s conduct.
They demanded an apology from the Minister for his wrongful action but the Minister appeared to be unfazed.
The workers threatened to disconnect the Minister’s private residence over unpaid bills if he failed to render an unqualified apology.
Responding to the workers’ demand for an apology at a press conference in Kumasi on Thursday, 25th April, the Regional Minister, Osei-Mensah, defended his actions, citing security concerns as the basis for requesting the police to arrest the Ashanti East Manager of ECG, Mark Wiafe Asomani.
“Do I have to apologise for doing my security work?” the minister questioned, asserting his authority under the Securities and Intelligence Agencies Act of 2020.
“What I want to tell you is that I asked the police to invite Ing. Mark Wiafe Asomani on security grounds because of the happenings in the electricity sector in the region and the fact that a taskforce can always come from outside to disconnect without the proper information,” he said.
He also refuted claims that certain ECG managers are members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and criticised ECG for failing to maintain uninterrupted power supply at the residences of the President and Vice President when in the Ashanti Region.
“It is a palpable falsehood. They are not members of the Regional Security Council. Regional Security Council invited them to brief us on the adequacy or otherwise of security measures put in place at the various installations of the ECG.
“I had informed ECG that where the President and the Vice President lodged anytime they are in Kumasi is declared a security zone.
“Unfortunately, ECG had never observed this and keeps on flouting this [directive],” he said.
Furthermore, the Minister alleged overcharges by ECG for electricity at his residence while denying any outstanding payments to the power company.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com