Benjamin Nsiah, the Director of the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy, has expressed doubts about the claims made by Samuel Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, regarding a presidential directive to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
Speaking on Happy 98.9 FM’s “Epa Hoa Daben” socio-political talk show, Nsiah stated, “I think Atta Akyea is involved in PR gimmicks. The reason is that we know whenever there’s a communique from the Presidency like appointing a Chair of the board of ECG that’s Herbert Krapa, they communicated to the public. Whenever there’s something major going to happen at ECG the President communicates to the public because he needs us to know what he has done.”
Nsiah further questioned the credibility of Atta Akyea’s statement, noting, “But Atta Akyea said the President has commanded the ECG to halt distribution to other countries but I would have thought that we would see such communique in public to confirm what Atta Akyea said.”
He further expressed his doubts, stating, “I do doubt what he said about the President commanding that though he is the Chairman of Energy Committee of Parliament. But I know it’s one of the PR gimmicks from ECH who have been serving us these gimmicks over the period. If the directive never went on paper, then it was never a directive or even given.”
Nsiah’s comments come in the wake of concerns raised by the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, regarding the increasing frequency of load management requests made by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo). Mahama cited customer disturbance and irritation as a result of these routine requests.
The ongoing debate surrounding the management of the country’s power distribution highlights the need for transparency and the need for effective coordination.