Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah has dismissed claims that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) managers are members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC).
This comes after he allegedly criticized ECG for failing to heed warnings from the Security Council to maintain an uninterrupted power supply at the President and Vice President’s residences during their visits to the Ashanti Region.
Meanwhile, he has rejected calls to apologize for the arrest of Mark Wiafe Asomani, the Ashanti East ECG manager.
At a press conference in Kumasi on Thursday, the Minister maintained that he ordered the arrest of the ECG manager for security reasons.
He cited agreements between ECG and the Kumasi Technical University regarding the University’s outstanding debts as a justification for his actions.
The ECG Workers’ Union on the other hand has demanded an apology from Osei-Mensah for the arrest of Wiafe Asomani.
The union claims that the minister overstepped his authority and violated the rights of its members.
In response, Mr. Osei-Mensah assured reporters that he was merely carrying out his duties and had not committed any wrongdoing which should warrant an apology.
“Do I have to apologise for doing my security work? What I want to tell you is that I asked the police to invite Ing Mark Asomani Wiafe on security grounds because of the happenings in the electricity sector in the region and the fact that a task force can always come from outside to disconnect without the proper information.
“What is ironic is that they tell me that they are not under me and for that matter, I cannot tell them what to do but they want to tell me how to execute my security responsibilities as enshrined in the Securities and Intelligence Act of 2020, Act 10(30).”
Osei-Mensah further alleged that the ECG had been overcharging him for electricity at his residence while denying any outstanding payments to the power company.
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
