The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) is said to be chasing after Wontumi Radio and Television in Kumasi because of electricity theft.
The two media houses which are owned by the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP, Chairman Wontumi have been accused of connecting illegal power to their media houses and currently owing to the Electricity company a whooping sum of GHc300,000.
Sources familiar with the development told Starr News the ECG visited the facility and other businesses in the area on a tip-off and found over 100 people culpable of power theft.
“Our regional manager always pushes the public affairs unit to go public any time we arrest people for stealing ECG power, but when Wontumi station was disconnected for power theft he is quiet about the development and he is secretly negotiating to cover the rot because the media house belongs to a politician. This style of business management is why ECG is not meeting its revenue target’’ the source said.
Responding to the matter, the General Manager of Wontumi Communications Limited known widely as Away Bus confirmed the accusation but noted the said meter was tampered with before the company bought and moved into the building.
He explained the meter has been replaced by the ECG.
”Unfortunately, I don’t have the bill off-head, they earlier gave us about Three Hundred Thousand Cedis bill (GHC.300,000) to pay then they later reduced it to over one hundred thousand Ghana Cedis. I’m surprised this issue has entered into the media”. He added “It will surprise you to notice that ECG has commenced collection of the debt. The first power we bought from ECG since the issue began the system deducted 40 percent of the money to recover the debt. This means we have started the payment process so why do you take us to the media?.
“Me as the business manager for the media house, I’m not a technical person so I don’t even know a tempered meter so we were just doing our work. None of my technical personnel also did that until this issue came up. We are yet to inform Chairman Wontumi, the owner of the station, for us to resolve the issue with ECG you know he was very busy with his campaign activities’’.
However, the Ashanti regional public relations officer of ECG Madam Grace Garshong denied knowledge of the said illegal connection of power at the media house and hence can’t speak about it.
Story by: Berlinda Arthur
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