Rivers90.1 FM Accuses ECG of fraud and sabotage

The radio station based in the Western Region of Ghana has accused the Bogoso branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana of sabotaging the government in its effort to make electricity power accessible by all Ghanaians.

In a statement released to expose the supposed rot, the station alleged that the District manager of the company in the area had devised a strategy to cheat the people by inflation bills charged the people and issue fake receipt afterwards.


Read full statement below

ECG BRANCH IN BOGOSO IS HURTING THE PEOPLE AND SABOTAGING THE GOVERNMNET
We, workers and directors of Rivers 90.1fm wish to expose our findings on fraudulent activities going on at the ECG District office at Bogoso.
Apart from sabotaging government’s effort to extend and improve access to electricity to the Rural areas, the District manager has designed a strategy to cheat the poor illiterate farmers in the District.
Much effort to correct the district manager had proved futile hence this press conference. Many people are crying every day for poor delivery of electricity supply around Bogoso, Prestea and Wassa Akropong area
From pre-paid meters to post-paid meters, every electricity user in the towns named has a problem with the District office.
Unfortunately, very little is being done by the District office to correct this anomaly that is making the government and the company so unpopular in this area.
Below, we have identified the problems confronting the people which we believe is the doing of the Bogoso ECG officials
Non reading of meters: Most of the meters in District do don’t read hence the people are not able to track their electricity consumption. In view of this, the bills are generated manually from the District office which is mostly ridiculously overly estimated to the annoyance of the people who have threatened to go on rampage if nothing is done about it within the shortest possible time
Rivers FM has not been spared from these problems and therefore this press conference is born out of our experience with the company and that of others
Our meters were installed on the 18th of August, 2013 but the company did not come to our premise to read it until 8Th, May, 2016 after countless calls, follow-ups and serious confrontation with the company.

This is happening to thousands of people in the district.

OVERPRICED BILLS AND REDUCTION OF BILLS. Given the fact that the final bill is generated from the District office with consumers denied every means of monitoring how much they consume due to the fact that most of the meters don’t function well, bills presented are mostly over prised. In cases where the meters function, the company don’t go there to read them. In our case, we had a functioning meter which was never read for nearly a year. And that was on the back of unending pressure on them from our outfit.
We were subsequently presented with a bill of GHc 11,405. When we confronted the company over the bill issued, they reduced it to GHc 1675.37 citing system error as the cause of the wrong bill issued. As said, this was after many meetings with the Bogoso ECG District head Mr Amoah. Another bill of 20,004 was drastically reduced after we challenged them. This has been going on over and over again and doesn’t seem to be ending.
Many reductions has been made after serious confrontation with the manager at Bogoso Mr Amoah after countless meetings
Unfortunately, most of the people affected in these areas are predominantly uneducated and have little knowledge of their right. In view of this, they are not able to challenge the company even when they have strong grounds to prove that the bills could not be genuine. In effort to further discourage people from complaining, immediately a concern is raised about a particular amount being charged, Mr Amoah, the District head and the man we hold responsible for all these problems will send his boys to go and disconnect the complainant’s line. People are therefore forced to pay those bills or wait helplessly until they are disconnected

Due to the fraudulent way the bills are generated, they are unable to provide customers bill statement when requested for.
Ladies and Gentlemen, when we requested for a statement of our bill from 2012 to be able to track the bills they have charged us over the years, they were not able to provide it. This also goes without mentioning that as a result of the fraudulent bills charged us over the years, we have been disconnected on countless time.

They have no data of us in their system and yet they are able to charge us and reduce the bill when we challenged it. What the company do is that when they issue those fake bills, they resort to disconnection to force people to pay their bills.

ISSUING OF FAKE SUSPENSION RECEIPT We strongly believe that not all the payment made in the district goes to the electricity company directly as the inconsistency of information on the various receipts issued by the office raises genuine concern. Wassa Akropong is a typical example.
We are therefore calling on the company at the regional or possibly national level to investigate the issue.
STEALING OF METERS New meters were installed on our premises 8/8/13 and other four single face meters were removed to the electricity office at Bogoso .Unfortunately, the meters which had been removed were installed in another place of which bill were sent to us.

Our question is: where were these meters taken to and at what cost. We are not the only people whose meters were changed.

SLOW IN RESPONSE TO COMPLAINS: Ladies and Gentle, Bogoso to Wassa Akropong is just 45minutes drive but it takes this manager five or six days to come over to solve simple problems on our lines .This is even worse if you're a company which is not in his good books.

We are by this press release calling the government to investigate seriously on the behaviour and activities of this District officer and put stop to his poor treatment of the companies and people in Bogoso District.
NANA TWUM BARIMA V
Contact- 0244020902