Workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have cautioned the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah to settle outstanding electricity bills accrued at his private residences or face disconnection from the national grid.
The warning comes in the wake of a series of protests initiated by the ECG workers, following the Minister’s order for the arrest of one of their managers.
The Minister’s actions have sparked outrage among the ECG workers, particularly after he recently ordered the arrest of the company’s Ashanti East Manager, Mark Wiafe Asomani. This order was given after the ECG’s National Revenue Mobilization Taskforce disconnected power to the Kumasi Technical University due to unpaid bills.
In response to the Minister’s actions, the Workers’ Union of the ECG issued a statement demanding an apology. However, the Minister has yet to issue an apology, despite the ultimatum given by the Union having elapsed on Tuesday.
As part of their protest, ECG workers have started wearing red bands at their offices nationwide. Despite this, they have ensured that customer service remains unaffected.
The Union leadership has expressed their determination to intensify the protest if the Minister does not take appropriate action. They maintain that the Minister’s actions are unacceptable and that he must be held accountable for his actions.
A worker told Citi News on Wednesday “If the regional minister owes any bill in his private house we are going there. This week we will get to his house if he owes a pesewa, we will disconnect him then the police must come and arrest all of us.
“If he arrests any regional boss all of us will be at the prison yard. So, they should expand the prison yard all of us are coming. We are expecting him to apologise…We know all his houses …We are going there…He should prepare to pay his money, or we will disconnect him.”
Another worker said “The action of the minister is more of a security concern than our General Manager’s meeting at the REGSEC. The reason is that the actions can lead to other customers emulating what he did and we think that he should just apologise unreservedly to ECG then we move on. We have a series of actions to take. This is the first step That is why we said that if he is not apologizing someone should tell him to do so.”
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