You have 5 days to apologise to our GM – ECG staff to Ashanti Regional Minister
The staff of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) are demanding an unqualified apology from the Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah.
The regional minister has been accused of making derogatory comments about General Manager Mark Wiafe Asumani following a power cut at the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) due to an outstanding debt of GHC1.2 million.
The minister is said to have ordered the ECG staff to restore power to the university during the revenue mobilisation exercise, a directive they did not comply with.
Subsequently, Mr Osei-Mensah is alleged to have arranged for the arrest of the general manager, who was later released on self-recognizance bail.
Legally, self-recognizance is a court’s decision to allow a person charged with a crime to remain at liberty pending trial without posting bail.
In a statement issued on Thursday, April 18, 2024, the joint unions in the region registered their displeasure with the minister’s actions, asserting that they do not follow his directives in their operations but owe allegiance to ECG.
“We want the regional minister to know that ECG does not report to him and does not take instructions from him on all of its activities, including revenue mobilization/collection.”
They threatened to raise red flags and dress in red if the regional minister failed to withdraw the case from the police station.
“We demand an unqualified apology from the Regional Minister to the General Manager in particular and the entire ECG and withdrawal of the case from the police station by close of day Tuesday the 23rd of April, 2024, else the entire ECG Ashanti Region, as a first step in registering our displeasure, will HOIST RED FLAGS and be in red on Wednesday, the 24th of April, 2024” the statement added.
Find the full statement below: