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Business News of Monday, 26 April 2021

Source: starrfm.com.gh

You’re not fit to lead us – ECG workers to MD

Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman Budu Managing Director of ECG, Kwame Agyeman Budu

The Western Regional Branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana has joined their colleagues nationwide in protest against the Managing Director of the company Kwame Agyeman Budu.

At the Regional Office in Takoradi where the protest took place, a significant number of the workers were clad in red armbands amidst hoisting of red flags and drumming and dancing.

Some of the customers who had come to patronize the services of ECG were stranded due to the protest.

Addressing scores of the workers in a very charged atmosphere, Union Chairman of the Junior Staff association Samuel Agbetor said the continuous stay of the Managing Director of ECG, will lead to the collapse of the company while describing his two years in office as one that lacks vision.

He revealed that the managing Director was rather promoting the outsourcing of the revenue collection from SLT customers to third parties as a staggering seven percent rate and three percent consulting fee, a service is being executed by the workers of ECG for free of charge.

The workers also accused Mr. Kwame Agyemang Budu of a number of procurement process breaches under the clear supervision of the Managing Director.

Citing examples, Mr. Agbetor said the contracts of some Six (6) substations were awarded by the MD but the recommendations of the evaluation committee were sidestepped and awarded to other companies

The Union also decried the alarming rate at which the Company’s technical and commercial losses are galloping.

They claim a conservative estimate puts the current system loss figure at over 34% as of February 2021, and there are no concrete strategies in place to bring them down in the short and medium-term and added that a figure which was between 23% and 24% as at the time of his assumption of office.

The disenchanted workers further revealed that there are numerous projects aimed at loss reductions and system reliability which are at various stages of implementation.

They queried why the Managing Director continues to award new noncritical contracts without regard to the company’s poor finances and ability to complete critical projects.