Members of the Senior and Junior Staff Unions of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region are demanding an apology from the Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah for mistreating the area General Manager of ECG, Mr. Michael Wiafe.

The Ashanti East Regional General Manager is currently being investigated by the Ghana Police Service (GPS) after Simon Osei Mensah ordered his arrest following the disconnection of the Kumasi Technical University by an ECG national task force.

Mr. Wiafe was arrested on the orders of the Minister because, according to him, the now suspect defied his directive to restore power to the school.

While this action has been widely condemned by the Public Utilities Workers’ Union (PUWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and members of the general public, no official statement has been made by the police or government.

Reacting to this in a press release sighted by Myjoyonline, the SSU/JSU Divisions of the ECG in the Ashanti Region said the Minister must apologise to the General Manager and the company as a whole.

They are also demanding the withdrawal of the case from the Police Station by close of day, Tuesday April 23, 2024," ...else the entire ECG Ashanti Region as a first step in registering our displeasure will hoist red flags and be in red on Wednesday, the 24 of April, 2024," the statement added.

The unions also stressed that ECG reserves the right to disconnect any institution or individual for non-payment of bills for power consumed without taking instructions from political authorities.

They, therefore, used the opportunity to appeal to all state institutions, departments and agencies within the Ashanti Region to pay their electricity bills.

"This is because the national grid relies more on gas and crude oil to generate power for supply and these are paid for with United State dollars. Failure to pay bills will mean failure to get money to buy gas and crude oil to power the thermal plants to generate power for supply," the statement explained.

Find the full statement below: