The Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU), a trade union that represents Ghanaian utility workers, says President John Dramani Mahama’s assurance that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will not be privatised is good news.
Timothy Nyame, General Secretary of the Union, claims that, while the president’s assurance was positive, the proposed Private Sector Participation (PSP) is the same as privatisation.
PUWU has consistently expressed concerns over the government’s decision to privatise the ECG, indicating that this could negatively impact workers’ conditions of service and the overall management of Ghana’s electricity distribution.
However, in his May Day message on Thursday, May 1, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama assured that the ECG as an institution would not be privatised.
“Let me assure you, it is not my intention to privatise ECG as an institution,” he said. “Our focus is on a public-private collaboration to improve electricity distribution.”
“Read my lips for emphasis: electricity Company of Ghana, as an institution, will not be privatised.”
Timothy Nyame responded in an interview with Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, stating that, despite the President’s positive assurance, his claim of private sector participation is equivalent to privatisation. Timothy
” The president’s assurance was positive, but we have already informed the energy minister that the government’s plan to use private sector participation to improve ECG’s work is not far from privatisation. We will not agree to that. The government’s proposal is something that the ECG staff can implement. We already have Independent Power Producers (IPPs), so granting service retailing rights in the name of private sector participation is privatisation.
We have a track record of private sector participation that has not produced positive results, so this is not the best approach. We want to emphasise that ECG’s staff is capable of working together to improve efficiency. The best thing to do is for the government to direct and empower ECG to become more efficient.”
He told host Kwabena Agyapong that the political class, particularly the government, is interfering with ECG’s work, which is a major source of concern for the organization’s efficiency.
Timothy Nyame lamented that ECG’s professionals and technical brains are sidelined while the country imports meters.
He stated that there are no meters readily available, and those that do exist are imported by politicians who are unfamiliar with meters.
He also mentioned that some meters are configured to be used in specific locations, but due to interference, these arrangements are ignored.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
