ECG not responsible for technical hitch at Ghana-Lesotho match

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has said it was not responsible for the blackout during the match between Ghana and Lesotho at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Friday.

“We do not control the floodlights at the Stadium, as that was within the mandate of the National Sports Authority (NSA) and therefore any development with the facility should be left with the Authority to answer”, Mr Erasmus Baidoo, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer for the Company, told the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi on Saturday.

He was reacting to concerns by most Ghanaians in connection with the embarrassing manner in which floodlights at the Stadium suddenly went off barely 54 minutes into Ghana’s game against Lesotho.

The Ghana Black Stars were at the time leading their opponents 4-0.

No official statement had as yet been issued by the NSA in respect of the incident, however, the ECG insists that the latter should be blamed for the unfortunate incident.

Football fans who thronged the Stadium on Friday to catch a glimpse of the match were highly disappointed as they had no option than to leave for their various destinations after the floodlights went off.

Senegalese referee Diata Badara, following the incident, signaled for hostilities to come to an abrupt end, but after conferring with the Match Commissioner and other officials, ordered the NSA and Ghana Football Association (GFA) to rectify the situation in an hour to allow for play to continue in accordance with FIFA’s regulations.

Mr. Baidoo said even though the ECG was not to blame for the incident, investigations by his outfit indicated that the problem emanated from a faulty switch that powers the generator for the floodlights to function.

“In that particular instance, the floodlights failed to pick the required load from the generator due to the faulty switch and as such the technicians and engineers of the NSA responsible for the facility are the best people to explain the cause for this development.”

The Public Relations Officer said that the ECG had worked around the clock to ensure that its power plants were functioning so as to provide lights to the Kumasi Metropolis in the course of the match.

Mr. Baidoo said the ECG ought to be commended for the role it played in restoring power to the floodlights so as to continue with the match when the situation became very critical.

This was after the floodlights had gone off almost an hour.

On the match itself, Ghana played a determined game to beat Lesotho 7-0.**