The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Samuel Dubik Mahama has refuted suggestions that the revenue mobilisation exercise is one of several conditionalities from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The ECG has embarked on a one-month-long revenue mobilisation exercise to recover some GH¢5.7 billion from individuals and firms who have failed to pay for power used.

A section of the public has suggested that the exercise is one of the conditions by the IMF to help Ghana meet the requirement for a $3 billion bailout.

But Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, April 20, Mr Dubik Mahama disclosed that the ECG had to embark on the exercise to retrieve monies owed them to help save the company financially.

“If someone says this is IMF driven, it is very sad. That means that you don’t want to applaud ECG, because we took our time, and suffered what we had to suffer to get to where we are now. The dashboard showed us where we were leaking, where we were bleeding and what the billing system is saying, and then we lost our moral high ground by sitting in the office and being owed GH¢5.7 billion”.

“So we said let’s all move out in one month and see if we can close the gap and see if we can make everybody happy. Through this exercise, one of the things that will happen is that we will be able to clean our books,” Mr Mahama told host Bernard Avle.

Meanwhile, Mr Mahama has revealed that ECG has been able to recoup over GH¢2 billion from its defaulting customers within the last few weeks.

Mr Mahama said he was hopeful his outfit will be able to collect more from defaulters by the end of the exercise this week.

“We have collected in excess of GH¢2 billion. That is less than half [of what we targeted], but we have one more week to go before I am able to give my figures. I will sit down, do an assessment and then see. Why are people not paying? We will disconnect and prosecute.”

 

Source: Ghana Business