Some workers at Avenor in Accra posted notices demanding the MD's reinstatement
Staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have threatened to shut down electricity substations and plunge the country into darkness unless their sacked boss is reinstated.
Rev William Hutton-Mensah was sacked as the Managing Director of the power distributor by President John Mahama last week. Robert Dwamena, a former Director of Procurements at the ECG, replaced Hutton-Mensah in acting capacity.
But more ECG staff unions across the country have joined the protest to force the President to rescind his decision.
The workers argued that “sacrificing” the head is an “attack” on the entire ECG workforce, claiming though that they are not responsible for the power crisis bedeviling the nation.
Insisting that the dismissal was not in the right direction, the workers urged government to focus on power generation, which they believe is largely responsible for the excruciating load shedding.
Secretary of the Senior Staff Association of ECG Workers in Eastern Region, Abraham Lincoln told Joy News: “If our MD is not reinstated, there is a possibility that we will take a decision that will not go in favour of the government, because we don’t want to shut any substation down.
“If we decide to shut the primary substation down, the whole country will be in total darkness; but what we are saying is that we don’t need to get to that extreme.”
Later in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story Monday, Mr. Lincoln vehemently rejected claims that ECG does not have a planned timetable for the load shedding exercise.
Arguing in favour of the former MD, he said the ECG has “seen a lot of improvement” under the three-year leadership of Hutton-Mensah.
He mentioned a number of towns including Koforida Old Estate, Akyem Oda, Nkawkaw, and Suhum that have benefitted from substations, “a vehicle electricity travels on”, within the past three years.
He is however hopeful, President Mahama who is a “listening” president will listen to their plea and rescind his decision.
A press statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani that announced Hutton-Mensah’s dismissal did not assign any reason. The workers have also not been informed about the reason for his removal, Abraham Lincoln said.
But Minority Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, William Owireku Aidoo said the action was purely influenced by politics.
He said the government is a “grandmaster of taking people’s mind of issues”, and suspected that the action was taken to divert people’s attention from the recent increase in selected petroleum products.
He however appealed to the workers to shelf any plan to shut down substations and remain calm because “Ghanaians need them.”
Mr. Aidoo also cautioned the government against "experimenting" with the leadership of the ECG.
- See more at: http://www.myjoyonline.com/
Staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have threatened to shut down electricity substations and plunge the country into darkness unless their sacked boss is reinstated.
Rev William Hutton-Mensah was sacked as the Managing Director of the power distributor by President John Mahama last week. Robert Dwamena, a former Director of Procurements at the ECG, replaced Hutton-Mensah in acting capacity.
But more ECG staff unions across the country have joined the protest to force the President to rescind his decision.
The workers argued that “sacrificing” the head is an “attack” on the entire ECG workforce, claiming though that they are not responsible for the power crisis bedeviling the nation.
Insisting that the dismissal was not in the right direction, the workers urged government to focus on power generation, which they believe is largely responsible for the excruciating load shedding.
Secretary of the Senior Staff Association of ECG Workers in Eastern Region, Abraham Lincoln told Joy News: “If our MD is not reinstated, there is a possibility that we will take a decision that will not go in favour of the government, because we don’t want to shut any substation down.
“If we decide to shut the primary substation down, the whole country will be in total darkness; but what we are saying is that we don’t need to get to that extreme.”
Later in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story Monday, Mr. Lincoln vehemently rejected claims that ECG does not have a planned timetable for the load shedding exercise.
Arguing in favour of the former MD, he said the ECG has “seen a lot of improvement” under the three-year leadership of Hutton-Mensah.
He mentioned a number of towns including Koforida Old Estate, Akyem Oda, Nkawkaw, and Suhum that have benefitted from substations, “a vehicle electricity travels on”, within the past three years.
He is however hopeful, President Mahama who is a “listening” president will listen to their plea and rescind his decision.
A press statement signed by the Chief of Staff, Prosper Bani that announced Hutton-Mensah’s dismissal did not assign any reason. The workers have also not been informed about the reason for his removal, Abraham Lincoln said.
But Minority Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, William Owireku Aidoo said the action was purely influenced by politics.
He said the government is a “grandmaster of taking people’s mind of issues”, and suspected that the action was taken to divert people’s attention from the recent increase in selected petroleum products.
He however appealed to the workers to shelf any plan to shut down substations and remain calm because “Ghanaians need them.”
Mr. Aidoo also cautioned the government against "experimenting" with the leadership of the ECG.
- See more at: http://www.myjoyonline.com/