The Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced the commencement of a new nationwide
revenue mobilization initiative known as “Operation Zero.”
Scheduled to
begin on July 11 and conclude on September 11, 2023, this two-month campaign
aims to recover every outstanding debt to the last pesewa.
In an official
statement, the ECG emphasized that it will conduct thorough inspections of
customers’ residences and all power-consuming establishments as part of the
operation.
Additionally,
the ECG will work closely with the security services, who will apprehend and
prosecute anyone who obstructs the process.
Meanwhile, the
Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik
Mahama has watered down calls for the privatisation of the revenue collection
function of the company.
This suggestion
was made by some analysts on the back of the current impasse between the
government and the Chamber of Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Mr. Mahama also
argued that ECG is now doing better now than when it was under Power
Distribution Services (PDS) Limited.
In an interview
with Selorm Adonoo on The Big Issue on Citi TV and Citi FM, ECG’s Managing Director
insisted that the company in its current state is doing well.
He however
acknowledged that there are challenges that need to be resolved after which, if
it continues to record losses, the privatisation conversation can fairly kick
in.
“ECG is doing far
better now than when it was under PDS and there are certain operational
dynamics that if we fix today, and we realise that there are still gaps in it,
that is when we can start talking about privatisation.
“The calls for
privatisation are too early because if you are privatising a company, and you
don’t know the total number of customers, and you give it out, you have given
out a gold mine.”
Mr. Mahama also
expressed that the main goal of the company currently is to digitalise its
operations in order to close the leakages to maximise revenue.
“We are in a
phase where we are turning our operational mechanisms to become efficient like
a 21st-century utility company and our dynamism in digitalising the whole
system. That is what is going to close the gap quickly because after I got the
data, one of my first problems was whether it was the tariff increment or the
operational things we have clocked, we had to look at. And I will rather say it
is operational, and I have said at every moment that I don’t believe in tariff
increment, but I do believe that the tariff should be adjusted in terms of
forex.”
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