The story is told of an Arabian King who visited the West. He was so fascinated with the goodies thereof – water and light at the tap of a button among others.
Prior to his departure, he bought all the necessary gadgets (sockets, plugs, tap etc) apparently to fix same in his home country and enjoy associated benefits thereof.
He realized the “actuals” when the gadgets failed to deliver – certainly, there was more to it.
This is the “quagmire” ECG finds and has placed itself in.
Yah, its much touted digitalisation of operation ‘DID NOT ATTACH COMMONSENSE.’
Even rats, have thought us to make room for contingencies by creating several exits points, should…
ECG just embarked on its wholesale digitalization of its metering system without factoring into the vocabulary, the word CONTINGENT – WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A SYSTEM FAILURE?
Since Tuesday, I have been without electricity and I am not in the equation alone.
In fact, hundreds, if not thousands of customers have not, not because E -levy has scooped their salaries, but because ECG has simply failed to think outside the box.
A post of theirs dated September 28, 2022 sought to appeal and assure the general public of addressing the issue – One Hundred & Twenty (120) uninterrupted hours thereafter, the equation holds – NO ELECTRICITY.
I tell you, dear brethrens and sisters, Ghana Sweet, aka, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN, AND NO ONE WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, after all, it’s God who gives and takes, aka, FAMA NYAME.
Listening to their Head of Corporate Services or whatever on Umara Sanda’s Citi FM Eye Witness last Friday, there was every indication that ECG cared not.
To make matters worse, it seems they have not realized the need to work around the clock to serve customers from their District offices where THEY ALLEGE, the system was operational, but have chosen to go by the status quo of their normal working hours of 9am to 4pm- if it were their Fathers job, would they have adopted this lackadaisical attitude?
And that too, there was NO SHOW as my boy said Good bye to them around 2pm at their District Office at Kwabenya, sandwiched between Atomic Energy and Adwoa Safo’s FSHS after reporting at the said facility as early as 5am yesterday – WHO CARES EVEN IF YOU SLEPT THERE?
It’s time the authorities revisit this digitalisation or whatever concept. It’s a good novelty, but we must tread cautiously in its implementation by making concrete provisions should the system face any challenges or hacked as they have chosen to brand their incompetency, actions, inactions and plain – ‘I don’t careism.’
I am yet to hear from the loud mouthed Energy Minister and his deputies thereon.
No wonder the Bureau of National Security (NIB) and its sister organization, National Security see no security threat in this – THEY ARE IN FACT SLEEPING ON THE JOB, WHO CARES AND WATCHES THE WATCHMAN?
Recall years back, a Kumasi based Business man, the late P.K. Boateng, had cause to drag ECG to court for their failure to provide him with electricity, which culminated in his essential drugs going waste, BUT WHO CARES?, after all, no one within and or outside ECG will be hauled before anyone to answer any questions, aka, IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL –
No lessons learnt?
By Kwabena Osei, Accra
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.
