Committee to monitor use of utilities formed at Ho

Ho, Feb. 21, GNA- A meeting of Heads of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Ho on Thursday set up a seven member committee to deal with issues relating to the use of telephones and other utilities by public institutions in the region.

The committee is made up of the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC), Ghana Water Company, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Telecom, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Audit Service.


It would deal with discrepancies in bills, ensure efficient use of utility services and also help check abuses.


The meeting was chaired by Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, convened by the VRCC primarily to discuss concerns raised by the Volta Regional Head of Ghana Telecomm, Mr Douglas Wagba concerning the use of telephone facilities by MDAs.


Mr Wagba said a sampling of telephone use indicated phenomenal increases in the use of the facility since government decided to pay for the service on behalf of the institutions.

He said the situation could have arisen from the use of fixed phones to make calls to mobile phones and internet and employees allowing their relatives and friends to use such phones.


The meeting noted that bills submitted by Ghana Telecom did not reflect payments, which had already been made, making a true assessment of the level of indebtedness by the MDAs difficult to ascertain. The meeting also recommended that telephone booths should be sited close to offices from which private calls could be easily made. It was also realised that since payment of utility bills are made in bulk it was difficult to assess the specific consumptions to the various MDAs.


Other issues raised included the need for the Heads of Departments to insist on the inspection of tax certificates before contracts were awarded to contractors, the menace of bushfires and the danger it poses to electricity supply and remedial measures which should be taken. Mr Owusu-Yeboa called for co-operation among the various agencies to resolve their differences instead of a strictly formal and technical approach in their relations with each other.


He commended the level of collaboration among the various agencies and departments but said there was still room for improvement.