Adopt safety practices to reduce cost of electricity production - CEO

Tamale, Dec. 12, GNA - Mr. Joshua Ofedie, Chief Executive Officer of the Volta River Authority (VRA) has called on employees of the Authority to adopt effective safety practices to reduce the cost of production of electricity and thereby make it more affordable to their clients. He said: "Considering the consequences of accidents in relation to electricity, there is no gainsaying that safety is of utmost importance to the industry." "It is therefore, our duty to ensure that all employees are protected from hazards that will turn into catastrophic events".

The call was contained in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the 2005 VRA "Safety Week" celebration in Tamale on Monday, which is on the theme: "Safety, key to excellence in power production". Activities lined up for the week include: a talk on car safety and evacuation drills, safety quiz, games and church services." Mr. Ofedie said for VRA to improve upon its performance, there was the need to prevent injuries, illness and death due to non-compliance of safety requirements.

"When accidents occur, the image of the Authority is tarnished and consequently we find it difficult to attract new employees who might believe that the operations of the organisation are dangerous". Mr. Ofedie said: "For the Authority to achieve its mission, we need to combine all our human resource to work in a safe, effective and efficient manner to attain excellence in power production".