A research fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has described as strategic, the Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) decision to issue a 72-hour ultimatum to 91 hospitals owing the power distribution company.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu noted that cutting off power to hospitals would disrupt critical services, including morgues, operating theaters, dialysis units, cancer treatment centers, and pediatric wards, thereby impacting the entire nation.
Dr Asiedu, therefore, indicated that ECG’s decision to target hospitals serves as a pragmatic move to compel all stakeholders, including the government, to address the pressing issue of power debt.
“Health is a public service good, and health affects everybody because the minute you cut off power from the hospital, you cut off the morgue, the operating theatre, the urinal dialysis unit, the cancer unit, the pediatrics, so it would affect everybody one way or the other.
“So, ECG is basically targeting a sector that would bring the entire nation to the negotiating table,” he noted on Wednesday.
He pointed out that ECG is facing pressure from multiple fronts, including demands from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and public outcry over power outages [dumsor] resurfacing.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by ECG in recouping revenue to pay Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Dr Asiedu asserted, “What do you expect them to do? They need to ensure that we all are put under pressure.”
He likened ECG’s strategy to a game of chess, suggesting that the company’s actions are akin to a strategic checkmate.
“If I were the boss of ECG, I would take the route that would bring everybody including the President to the table.
“Congratulations to the ECG, it might be a painful pill to take but I think if this was a game of chess, the ECG would have made a strategic checkmate,” he said.
ECG on Wednesday morning issued a notice to 91 hospitals in various parts of the country threatening to disconnect them from the national grid should they default to settle their debt within 72 hours.
Among the notable hospitals facing potential disconnection are the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the 37 Military Hospital, Ridge Hospital in the Greater Accra region, Komfo Anokye and Manhyia Government Hospitals in the Ashanti region, Ho Teaching Hospital in the Volta region, and Kyebi Government Hospital in the Eastern region.
This move is part of ECG’s broader strategy to recover customer debts and strengthen its operational capacity.
ALSO READ: