The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has surcharged Mohammed Small Scale Mining Company GH¢1.5 million for illegal power connection at the mining site at Tarkwa in the Western Region.
The arrest and punishment of Mohammed Small Mining Company on Friday, January 31, followed the recent declaration of war by ECG on power theft in its operational areas.
The ECG Western Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Benjamin Quarcoo, confirmed this in an interview with the Ghanaian Times yesterday and attributed the arrests to the assistance of an informant and the ECG’s revenue protection team.
He explained that the revenue protective team acted upon a tip-off from an informant who was worried about the unscrupulous activities being carried out by Mohammed Small Scale Mining Company firm.
“This is a major breakthrough in ECG’s fight against power theft and illegal power connection,Mohammed Small Scale Mining Company site in Tarkwa is one of such infractions. It’s worrying to see such things. The ECG does not take such acts lightly. We shall bring the perpetrators of such criminal acts to book; no one is above the law,” he added.
According to Mr Quarcoo, the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana, Mr Kwame Agyeman-Budu, recently declared a ‘war’ against illegal use of power, and “has vowed to reduce the canker to its barest minimum.”
The Western Regional General Manager, Mr Abraham Anokye Abebreseh, encouraged well-meaning Ghanaians to take advantage of the company’s full-proof informant protection and reward scheme to help fight the menace of illegal connection.
“We have a reward scheme for persons who provide vital information to assist us to expose companies and persons involved in any form of unauthorised use of power,” he remarked.
He revealed that the informant who led the ECG team to this illegality was given a handsome amount of money, adding that the amount was the six per cent reward ECG promised to pay to anyone who provided any information for a successful arrest.
“The informant gets the reward, immediately we find out the information given is valid and leads to the discovery of the theft.” Mr Abebreseh added.
He reported that Western Regional office of ECG recovered more than GH¢2.5 million from power thefts and assured that the company hoped to improve on this record with the assistance from the public.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
