The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has rejected claims that their recent revenue mobilization exercise is part of the conditionalities imposed on the government by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to Mr. Samuel Dubik Mahama, such assertions are false and should be disregarded.
He said the ECG undertook research and realized that “it was bleeding” and needed to recover the monies urgently.
“If someone says this is IMF driven, it is very sad. That means that you don’t want to applaud ECG, because we took our time, and suffered what we had to suffer to get to where we are now.
“The dashboard showed us where we were leaking, where we were bleeding, and what the billing system is saying, and then we lost our moral high ground by sitting in the office and being owed GH¢5.7 billion.
“So we said let’s all move out in one month and see if we can close the gap and see if we can make everybody happy. Through this exercise, one of the things that will happen is that we will be able to clean our books,” Mr. Mahama said in an interview on Citi FM on Thursday.
Mr. Mahama also revealed that the power distributing company has so far recouped over GH¢2 billion from its defaulting customers.
“We have collected in excess of GH¢2 billion. That is less than half [of what we targeted], but we have one more week to go before I am able to give my figures.
“I will sit down, do an assessment and then see. Why are people not paying? We will disconnect and prosecute.”
The ECG has embarked on a one-month-long revenue mobilization exercise to recover some GH¢5.7 billion from individuals and firms that have failed to pay for power used.
However, a section of the public has suggested that the exercise is one of the conditions by the IMF to help Ghana meet the requirement for a $3 billion bailout.
But Mr. Mahama says such claims are not right and should be stopped.