The Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, spoke to the General Manager/Ashanti East, Ing. Mark Wiafe Asumani, about cutting off power supply to the Kumasi Technical University. He reported this to the Zongo Police Station. The General Manager was then arrested and given a self-recognizance bail. We, the Senior Staff Union and the Junior Staff Union of the four (4) Regions of Ashanti, are registering our dissatisfaction with the Ashanti Regional Minister’s actions.
In response to the Ashanti Regional Minister, we, the combined Union of the ECG in the Ashanti Region, would like to say the following:
We would like the Regional Minister to be aware that ECG does not answer to him and does not follow his directives regarding
all of its operations, including the collection and mobilization of revenue.
- That as a first step in expressing our dissatisfaction, the entire ECG Ashanti Region will HOIST RED FLAGS and be in red on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. We demand an unconditional apology from the Regional Minister to the General Manager in particular as well as the entire ECG and the withdrawal of the case from the police station by close of business on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
- We would want to make a request that all Ashanti Region State Institutions, Departments, and Agencies pay their electricity bills. This is due to the fact that the National Grid mostly uses natural gas and crude oil, which are both purchased with US dollars, to create power for supply.
If invoices are not paid on time, there would be no money available to purchase gas and crude oil, which will power the thermal plants and provide supply of electricity.
- In order to guarantee a smooth and steady supply of power, we want to strongly advise the public to ignore the Regional Minister’s decision and pay their electricity bills on time
