Are ECG Staff Serious At All?

I read with utter shock the threat by some ECG staff to plunge the whole nation into darkness if the government fails to reinstate their dismissed ECG. In an interview with a Joy FM reporter, Secretary to ECGs Western Region Senior staff Association is alleged to have threatened: “If our MD is not reinstated, there is a possibility that we will take a decision that will not go in favour of the government, because we don’t want to shut any substation down. “If we decide to shut the primary substation down, the whole country will be in total darkness; but what we are saying is that we don’t need to get to that extreme.”

I hope they don’t carryout this cowardly act because I know for sure that ECG staff will lose this fight with Ghanaians. Let me give them a few clues. On 21st November Joyonline reported that local residents attacked an ECG installation at Nsuta, near Mampong during which they assaulted a security man and damaged furniture. http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2014/November-21st/ecg-staff-fear-for-their-lives.php#sthash.CQTlRyYU.dpuf This was the second attack on this station by irate local residents who were fed up with the constant unannounced blackouts in their area. Residents of Aboabo have also threatened to attack the ECG installation there due to what they claim to be unfairness in the rationing programme instituted by ECG with no explanations to consumers about the variations in load shedding across Kumasi. Not only are they displeased with the level of blackouts they wonder why some areas like Dechemso and Manhyia enjoy more power than the rest of Kumasi. http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2014/November-21st/ecg-staff-fear-for-their-lives.php#sthash.CQTlRyYU.dpuf The above attacks and threats came on the back of similar incidents in Accra where residents of Tabora and Odorkor blocked roads and attacked property in protest at 3 days of power disruptions.

And after all of this ECG staff are threatening to shut down a whole substation and plunge the whole nation into darkness? It’s unbelievable.

But why should I be surprised. ECG appears not to understand its consumers’ needs. Ghanaian electricity consumers want power 24/7. Ghanaians have had patience with ECG since its inception as a state monopoly and have put up with its problems over the years. Ghanaians have observed government upon government pump hard earned taxes into ECG and seen no improvement in service. If anything at all what Ghanaians have experienced is deteriorating services at a time that everyone is working hard to contribute their bit to the economy through one business or another. Yet this vital service that has no competition, has become a stumbling block in business growth. Ghanaians are now fed up.

ECG’s stock excuse that it only distributes power it receives from the Volta River Authority (VRA) is lame and shameful. We know from our daily experiences that ECG runs not only inefficient and ineffective organisation, its staff are blatantly corrupt; staff directly asking for bribes to reduce customers bills, deliberate falsification of bills are just a few examples. Rude and discourteous customer services staff, 5-7 people turning up to install one meter are just a few examples of management of a bygone era.

What ECG staff fail to fully appreciate is the extent and impact of their ineffectiveness on our day to day lives. It is not only at home that we suffer the constant disruptions to electricity supply, our businesses cannot thrive because of their ineptitude. Talk to the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) and they will tell you the number of business that have gone bankrupt due to blackouts. And it is not just big business. Hairdresses, barbers, the mobile phone retailer, ice water seller just to mention a few are all struggling to run their businesses due to unreliable electricity supply. As ECG destroys their businesses they watch ECG staff take home monthly salaries with no hope in sight of services ever improving.

Perhaps ECG staff should be reminded that the most recent Afrobarometer survey reported that Ghanaians felt ECG was the worst public service provider in the country. Do they even care about this? (http://www.citifmonline.com/2014/11/13/ghanaians-rate-ecg-worst-govt-service-provider)

Ghanaians have lost patience with ECG and any attempt to cause further mayhem through deliberate disruptions to power supply in response to the dismissal of their managing director will be met with the full force of positive public resistance. The claim that their dismissed managing director has brought about changes at the ECG since his appointment 3 years ago is not reflected in the services we receive. Our experience as Ghanaians is that the change has been negative with more frequent power cuts than we have experienced in recent times. ECG has failed in providing us reliable power, the MD is directly responsible for the organisation’s performance and the government has every right to terminate his appointment.

Ghanaians have lost patience with ECG. ECG is ruining businesses and destroying livelihoods. We fully support the government in its efforts to turnaround this critical service. Enough is Enough.

Alfred D Odzidzator.