Mahama creating confusion in deregulated sector – ISODEC

Campaign Coordinator of the Integrated Social Development Center (ISODEC) Dr. Steve Manteaw says President John Mahama’s consistent meddling in the deregulated sector has resulted in a state of confusion.

President Mahama, he says, appears to have contradicted the Power Ministry and the Electricity Company of Ghana’s recent announcement of subsidies for low-level power consumers, saying ECG has only realigned its billing structure.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Independence Square to mark this year’s Eid ul-Fitr, President Mahama said the ECG is merely realigning the billing system to make it easier for consumers to know the amount of power they are consuming.

Speaking on 3FM‘s Sunrise morning show, Dr. Manteaw stated that the president is confusing issues with interference in the deregulated sector. “I think what is happening really is a state of confusion being created by the president meddling in what is supposed to be a deregulated sector of national economy.

“For me, the challenge here is that the president seems to have a penchant of confusing issues. “You recall when we engaged government over this planned privatisation of the ECG, the president consistently said that it was not privatisation, only a few months down the line for him to turn around and then admit it was privatisation and he used the word for the first time a few weeks ago.

“Then he confused the issue of privatisation with liberalisation, comparing the liberalised regime we have in the telecom sector and suggesting that is what is happening with ECG and then it will introduce efficiency when in actual fact what is happening with ECG is a transfer of state monopoly to a private monopoly.

“I think that this confusion does not help in building confidence and trust in the system”.