ECG ignores Cabinet directive & Cuts power to Koforidua Polytechnic!!

OK so the Electricity Company of Ghana(ECG) has ignored a cabinet directive not to cut the power to public educational and health institutions in Ghana but they went ahead to cut power to the Koforidua Polytechnic in the Eastern Region.
According to two separate letters dated 18th May, 2015 and 4th May, 2015 signed by the Minister for Power and Secretary to the Cabinet, Dr. Kwabena Donkor and Roger K. Angsomwine respectively, cabinet took note of the mass disconnection exercise embarked upon by the utility companies to recover all outstanding debts owed them by public sector institutions.

The letter from Cabinet reiterated that, all MDAs should take responsibility for the payment of utility consumed, but charged ECG to exempt public health and educational institutions from the disconnection exercise while these institutions adopt a comprehensive solution to the payment of utility bills.

The letter, copied to the Ag Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana stated in the last paragraph that, the foregoing is for the strict compliance of ECG and NEDCO but does not stop them from installing prepaid meters on non-critical academic and health facilities nor demand payment for power used.

In spite of the directive, the ECG has disconnected power to the Koforidua Polytechnic in the Eastern region.

Our investigations have revealed that, the School owes ECG to the tune of about GHC791, 412.69 and the average consumption by the School is about GHC50,000.00 a month.

Mr. Nii Annang Mensah Livingston the Registrar of Koforidua Polytechnic disclosed that, government has banned the school from billing the students for utilities.

The Ministry of Education has promised to absorb the utility bills till further notice.
‘We always attach a memo to the monthly bills and send them to the ministry of Education for subsequent payment, I do not understand why ECG should disconnect us,’ Nii Annang said.

He is worried about the spate at which the ECG has been disconnecting power to the school, adding that, their sister Polytechnics in the other regions are not witnessing this kind of treatment from the power suppliers.