The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) workers have issued a stern warning to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, regarding outstanding electricity bills at his private residences. Failure to settle the bills could result in disconnection from the national grid. The warning follows protests initiated by the ECG workers after the Minister ordered the arrest of one of their managers.
Tensions escalated when Minister Osei-Mensah ordered the arrest of the ECG’s Ashanti East Manager, Mark Wiafe Asomani, in response to the company’s National Revenue Mobilization Taskforce disconnecting power to Kumasi Technical University due to unpaid bills. Despite demands from the Workers’ Union for an apology, the Minister has yet to issue one, even after the ultimatum expired on Tuesday.
As part of their protest, ECG workers have begun wearing red bands at their offices nationwide, though they ensure that customer service remains unaffected. The Union leadership has vowed to escalate the protest if the Minister does not take appropriate action, holding him accountable for his actions.
A worker emphasized their resolve, stating, “If the regional minister owes any bill in his private house, we are going there. This week we will get to his house; if he owes a pesewa, we will disconnect him, then the police must come and arrest all of us. If he arrests any regional boss, all of us will be at the prison yard. So, they should expand the prison yard; all of us are coming. We are expecting him to apologize… We know all his houses… We are going there… He should prepare to pay his money, or we will disconnect him.”
Another worker highlighted the security concerns arising from the Minister’s actions, stating, “The action of the minister is more of a security concern than our General Manager’s meeting at the REGSEC. The reason is that the actions can lead to other customers emulating what he did, and we think that he should just apologize unreservedly to ECG, then we move on. We have a series of actions to take. This is the first step. That is why we said that if he is not apologizing, someone should tell him to do so.”
