ECG staff “rip-off” 65 year old “Waakye” seller

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Officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana have begun an enquiry into an alleged plot by some of its workers to defraud a 65 year old ‘waakye’ seller.

Madam Hadiza Ali, who lives at Baatsonaa on the Spintex road in Accra, shed tears while narrating how she had been paying bills which were not meant for her.

Madam Hadiza Ali said her bills suddenly shot up in 2004 which she reported to ECG officials but nothing was done about it.

According to her, five (5) years later she was asked by a worker at ECG if she had two houses, to which she answered in the negative.

The Waakye seller claimed the ECG staff however told her that she had been paying bills for two houses instead of one.

She said after that revelation, ECG officials took her to the Nungua office where receipts of bills she had paid within the five year period were taken from her for further investigations.

Madam Hadiza claims she and officials of ECG went to the supposed house she had being paying their bills and met the supposed landlord who worked at Ghana Telecom now Vodafone, and admitted he had not paid bills for five years. The supposed landlord apologized to her for the inconveniences caused.

However, three years on, no relief is in sight. Madam Hadiza Ali told Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday that she had been passed off from one officer to the other with none ready to attend to her.

She said ECG wants to take possession of her house that is why she has been billed with throat cutting bills.

In one of her visits to the office, an officer at ECG told her ‘do you think working with computer is like selling Waakye’ she said, amidst tears.

He maintained that after the three years, ECG submitted a bill of GHC 1,442.52 covering December 2011 to February 2012.

Madam Hadiza Ali alleged that ECG officials threatened to sell off her house if she failed to pay the bill– constructed with proceeds from waakye sales since the Nkrumah regime–hence their lackadaisical attitude.

However, Kofi Capito of Consumer Protection Agency promised to take the matter up to the latter. Kofi Capito stressed that people had been cheated for far too long by utility companies and it is time the right thing was done about payment of bills.

But the Commercial Manager for Tema Region of the ECG, Joseph Agyemang said, the enquiry team will investigate how the complainant, Hadiza Ali paid bills which were not meant for her and ensure that the problem is speedily resolved.

Mr. Agyemang told Adom Fm that mix-ups resulting in the payment of wrong bills are rare, but promised that if Madam Hadiza Ali had paid bills which were not meant for her, ECG will credit any such money to her account.

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