ECG officials blamed for financial loss

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says its employees are to blame for the losses incurred by the company through collusion with electrical contractors.

"The ordinary man on the street is afraid of cables and would in most cases not venture to work on the electrical system," it said. Speaking at a get-together organized by the Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA) in Accra, Dr. Emmanuel K. Annan, Managing Director of ECG, said "left over materials for national assignments are often not returned thus leading to great financial loss to the company."

He said losses through such dishonest behavior lead to increasing costs, low profit, a distribution system that is unattractive to any investor. "If we are going to build together then we need to educate our members on the effects of trying to beat the system." The Managing Director explained that checking such thefts could bring the company 600 million cedis a month.

He appealed to the GECA not to hesitate to report electricity connections that look suspicious saying the identity of informants would be kept secret. Dr. Annan said as contractors, their actions and inaction affect the economy. "Shoddy work using sub-standard materials leads to early deterioration of installations, safety hazards such as fire, and general dissatisfaction. You must ensure that you employ qualified staff, train them and pay them adequately to deliver good quality service," he added.