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ECG, GWCL ‘cough’ GH¢250,000 to customers… for damaging properties, unlawful disconnection, payments
Dr Ishmael Ackah, Executive Secretary of the PURC
An amount of GH¢249,776.97 was recovered for customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) within the first-half of the year by the Greater Accra Regional (GAR) Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC).
This action follows 913 complaints received from consumers against the utility companies in the first-six months of the year.
The complaints, however, fell short of the 1,011 received in the same period last year.
The Greater Accra Regional Manager of the PURC, Mrs Gifty Bruce-Nelson disclosed this in an interview with the media in Accra last Thursday.
According to her, 896 of the cases, representing 98 per cent of the complaints, have been resolved.
She said the complaints against the GWCL and ECG bothered mainly on damages to property, unlawful disconnection and payments, quality of service and consumer service billing.
“In a similar vein, the Commission also received 100 complaints from utility companies against consumers within the same period for non-payment of bills and assault on their officers,” she added.
The GAR Manager said the PURC (Consumer Service) Regulation LI 2413, allowed utility companies to lodge complaints to the commission.
She said if consumers made complaints through walk-ins, phone calls or field and written, the regional office investigates such complaints and seeks ways to resolve them.
Mrs Bruce-Nelson said to reduce complaints, the regional commission embarked on sensitisation programme in the communities and schools to educate both consumers and the companies on how to prevent such issues.
“We also monitor industries to establish and ascertain the general electricity and water supply situation to commercial customers,” she added.
Mrs Bruce-Nelson cautioned the public to desist from illegal connection, tampering with transformers and stealing.
She urged the public to pay bills promptly, conserve energy and report to the commission when they have complaints.
By Anita Nyarko-Yirenkyi
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
