NDC General Secretary To Face Prosecution

The NDC General Secretary, Josiah Aryeh may soon face prosecution following the revelation of illegal connection to his East Legon residence in Accra. Investigations have revealed that even though the NDC General Secretary paid a little over ?1 million to the ECG in May 2001, no record shows that power was connected to his residence raising suspicion that the amount was paid to regularize the illegal connection that had already been carried out. Sources at the ECG said the provision of a meter is pre-requisite for the connection of power to any building explaining that Dr Aryeh’s house could not be connected without a meter, if indeed he paid the appropriate fees.

Another sore point was that the contractor who is alleged to have executed the job had flatly denied ever carrying out the job. The contractor, Elmark, told ECG officials that he did not execute the job even though records showed that materials were supplied by the electricity company. The NDC General Secretary who denied the charges of power theft on a number of radio stations said the responsibility of providing utilities is that of the landlord.

He denied ownership of the fortified house claiming it was for a relative but rented for him by the University of Ghana at ?450,000 a month. But strangely the receipt issued to cover the ?1 million payment made to the Legon Branch of the ECG to connect power to his house was in Dr Josiah Aryeh’s name suggesting that he was economical with the truth.

The NDC General Secretary in a desperate attempt to water down the allegation said he had not been living in the house for the past four months, even though his property was in the house when the ECG officials went there on a routine check to ensure that every house is properly metered. He also told a radio station that prior to the connection, he had been relying on a generating plant for water supply. Curiously there was no changing over gear in the house to suggest that he had been relying on fuel power generation.