Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has rebuffed calls for an apology from Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) workers, following his recent directive to arrest the Ashanti East General Manager, Mark Wiafe Asomani.
This directive came in response to ECG disconnecting Kumasi Technical University from the national grid due to outstanding debt.
In the wake of this incident, ECG workers, have demanded an apology from the minister, with some even threatening to disconnect power to his private residences if he has any unpaid bills.
Addressing the press in Kumasi yesterday, Thursday, April 26, 2024, Mr Osei-Mensah, defended his actions, questioning whether he should apologize for fulfilling his security duties. He clarified that his decision to involve the police was simply part of his responsibilities.
“Do I have to apologise for doing my security work?”, he asked.
“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”, he explained.
Mr Osei-Mensah continued: “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).”
The ECG, in response to the incident, banned its managers from attending Regional Security Council (REGSEC) meetings but Mr Osei-Mensah told journalists that no ECG manager is a member of REGSEC.
He also chastised ECG for ignoring the Security Council’s directive against power outages at the residences of the president and the vice president when they are present in the region.
Furthermore, he accused the ECG of over-billing him and noted that he did not owe the power company any money.
