News:
October 18, 2013
Government has rejected suggestions that the decision to install prepaid meters in the residence of Ministers and Presidential Staffers is due to pressure from organized labour.
Members of the executive will now pay their own utility bills following a directive from the President John Dramani Mahama, directing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to install prepaid meters in the official homes of Ministers and Presidential Staff.
Although some people say the directive is to appease the Trades Union Congress (TUC) which is calling for a downward review of the recently hiked utility tariffs, the Minister for Information and Media Relations Mahama Ayariga in an interview with Citi News denied those assertions.
“I don’t think it is in connection with the demonstrations or set of industrial action by the TUC, I think that it is just to ensure fairness in relation to every other person who has to pay for his own services,” he said.
According to him, the directive is to ensure fairness following the confusion that characterized the policy covering the payment of utility bills by Ministers.
He also revealed that the payment of bills following the installation of the metres would take immediate adding that the directive is not late at all.
“I think the most important thing is that every member of the executive is going to feel the impact of the adjustment the way that any Ghanaian will feel the impact if the person is paying from his own coffers,” he added.