Respect your legal obligations - Former PURC boss to public board directors

Former Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Kwame Pianim, has reminded directors of public boards to be mindful of their legal and judicial responsibilities.

This comes after the ECG board, which served from January 1 to March 18, 2024, was fined GH₵5,868,000.00 for failing to notify consumers of power outages, a direct violation of Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413.

The fine targets individuals, including former Board Chair Keli Gadzekpo and current Managing Director Samuel Dubik Mahama, to avoid impacting service quality through ECG's revenues.

During an appearance on JoyNews' Newsfile, Kwame Pianim praised the PURC for its decisive action against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) board members.

He also highlighted the importance of the Cash Waterfall Mechanism, which mandates the prioritisation of raw material payments over self-compensation and warned that ignorance of such policies is no excuse and that the audit and compliance committee must function effectively to ensure adherence.

“If they say they didn’t know, then it means the audit and compliance committee was not functioning properly and I’m happy that this is a timely reminder to directors that they have legal and judicial responsibility," he said.

The former PURC chairman called for national support for the regulatory body, emphasising the potential for consumer-led legal action if the ECG is not regulated properly.

“I’m hoping that the whole country will support the PURC just as they should support the Auditor General when he comes with his findings.

“As we are also supporting the PURC, they should also know that one day the consumer is going to take them to court for not regulating ECG properly,” he said.

The fined board members have until May 30, 2024, to pay the penalty into a dedicated fuel account controlled by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance.

ID/BB

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