Electricity Company Frustrates Dutch Investor

A Dutchman seeking to invest in the hospitality industry and agriculture says he is being frustrated by the Electricity Company’s inability to provide him with power. Piet Portman who took advantage of the Home Coming Summit in Accra last year to relocate to Gomoa Berwardzi in the Central Region says agricultural equipment worth millions of Euros are lying idle due to lack of electricity in the area.

Narrating his ordeal to the GNA, Mr. Portman said he settled at Berwardzi because he was told it had been selected under the Self-Help Electricity Project. To facilitate early completion of the electrification project, the Dutchman said he assisted the community to purchase poles.

However after erecting the poles the Electricity Company of Ghana asked the community to purchase a transformer costing 152 million cedis, before they could be connected to the national grid. The investor who claims to be frustrated says appeals to the Gomoa District Chief Executive and the Regional Minister on behalf of the community have yielded no results.

He is therefore asking the Minister for Private Sector Development to intervene. Mr. Portman says utility providers and agencies whose activities have a bearing on business promotion need to perform their roles efficiently to make Ghana a more attractive investment destination.