Parliament Pays ECG, Power Restored

The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, disclosed that a significant sum of money was paid by parliament before power was restored.

During the debate on President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address, there was an unexpected power outage in parliament, halting proceedings.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, was speaking when the power went off, responding to the Deputy Minister for Finance, Abena Osei-Asare, who was defending the President’s address.

The sudden darkness interrupted the debate. In an interview on Starr Chat with Bola Ray, Mahama clarified that ECG’s office was conducting its routine revenue collection exercise at Parliament when the outage occurred.

This incident brought attention to the issue of power reliability, as well as the importance of timely payments for electricity services. Members of Parliament, including Ablakwa, had to navigate the unexpected outage during their discussions.

It highlighted the vulnerability of even essential institutions like Parliament to power disruptions. The revelation of the payment made by Parliament to ECG sheds light on the behind-the-scenes workings necessary for maintaining electricity services, emphasizing the interplay between government institutions and utility providers in ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

“They gave us money, they paid a substantial amount more than half. I see this as something very beautiful, something that we should all look at as a success.

It goes to tell the average citizen that nobody is above it. If the Presidency has paid, Parliament has paid then why is everybody down giving excuses,” Mr. Mahama stated.

However, Starr News gathered that the disconnection exercise embarked upon by officials of ECG was due to over GHC23 million debt.