GRIDCO, ECG and VRA are confused -Kofi Kapito

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A consumer protection rights activist, Mr Kofi Kapito has called for a halt in the blame game being played by politicians with regards to the erratic power supply in the country.

According to him, pragmatic steps which need to be taken to ensure that players in the production, supply and distribution of electricity in the country are being ignored while trivial issues as to who has done what and who has not are rather being discussed.

Mr Kapito who was speaking on e.tv Ghana’s Awake Morning show noted that the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) demand for $700 million for its operations in the wake of current poor services is not justifiable.

In April 2011, Vice President John Dramani Mahama announced a $400 million approval to the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) and the ECG to expand their infrastructure and rehabilitate existing ones.

However, in the wake of the erratic power supply in the country, the ECG has come out again asking for an additional $700 million (GHC 12 trillion) from the central government to improve upon the distribution network.

Although electricity tariffs have been increased to over 80 per cent in recent times by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Commission (PURC) to enable the ECG improve upon its services to the public, the ECG has been up to the task.

In various interviews on some media platforms, the three players in the production, supply and distribution of the commodity; GRIDCO, VRA and ECG, have given reasons such as the short fall in the supply of crude oil and gas from Nigeria to the current blackouts being experienced in the country.

And this, according to Mr Kapito, is a clear indication of the state of confusion currently ongoing among the three entities.

He says “it is imperative for the PURC, parliament and all sector players to question them on what went wrong.”

However, he noted that, anytime such issues are mentioned on the floor of parliament, “they talk and it becomes party centered.”

“When lights go off, it’s about Ghana and not NPP or NDC. They should stop the child game and solve the situation because that’s why they were voted for.”

“If we have to fire people, let’s fire them. But we are afraid to do so because of political connections,” he further noted

According to Mr Kapito, if the problem is about the inability or refusal on the part of consumers to pay the bills, then, there is the need for government to pay realistic wages which will enable consumers to afford.

That notwithstanding, he called on all Ghanaians to make it a collective responsibility to ensure that the laws in the country were adhered to by both consumers and service providers.

He also encouraged people to ensure that they pay their bills on time and avoid engaging in illegal connections.

Jasmine Arku/etvghana.com


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