A former Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson has advised the government to remodel the governance structure of public utility companies in order to address the challenges with access to basic utilities in the country.
He is of the view that the challenges with the provision of water and electricity in the country are as a result of the politicisation of the companies.
“We have incompetent people who are there solely because of their proximity to power,” he said.
Dr. Nii Moi Thompson on Face to Face on Citi TV thus called for a total overhaul of the governance structures of the State-owned enterprises.
“About the current dumsor situation, it is not a question of fixing it. We want a permanent solution to it. That means the entire governance structure, in the energy sector and the utilities, in general, has to change.”
“It means we no longer appoint CEOs in the energy and water sector. Starting from VRA, GRIDCo, ECG, Ghana Water Company, fire all of them. The president can continue to appoint the Board of Directors. But let them advertise their positions, and then give them mandates to fulfil and see whether they won’t solve the problem.”
Since the beginning of 2021, parts of the country have experienced erratic power supply without prior notice.
The situation has affected the everyday lives of Ghanaians, especially those who rely on electricity and water to run their businesses. They have decried the impact of the situation on trading activities.
On social media, in particular, there has been a lot of conversation about the worrying trend with those suspecting a looming power crisis calling on authorities to publish a timetable if need be.
Meanwhile, the power transmission company, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has reiterated that the situation is not being caused by generation challenges but rather, ongoing maintenance and repair works on a number of its equipment and plants.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Ltd, Clifford Braimah, also attributed the water distribution challenges in the country to combined factors of power challenges, dry season and high demand.