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The Ho Teaching and Municipal Hospitals in Ghana had been jointly owing the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) approximately GH¢1.8 million in unpaid electricity bills since 2021.
The ECG had earlier threatened to disconnect the hospitals from the national grid by Monday, April 3, due to the significant amount of unpaid bills. However, the power company extended the deadline for payment to Wednesday, April 12, on humanitarian grounds, as the hospitals provide essential services.
According to Benjamin Obeng Antwi, the Regional Public Relations Officer of the Company, the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) had paid GH¢50,000 out of the GH¢1.4 million arrears and pledged to pay GH¢40,000 per month, while the hospital’s management engages with the Ministry of Health to clear the majority of debts in their books. This was the reason why ECG extended the deadline for payment to next week Wednesday.
For the Municipal Hospital, Mr Antwi said that Dr Kwesi Djokoto, the Acting Volta Regional Director of Health Services, was trying to reach a deal with the Director-General of Ghana Health Service for a resolution of the matter.
The ECG is currently undertaking a revenue mobilisation drive to retrieve a debt of GH¢5.7 billion across the country, with Volta and Oti regions collectively owing about GH¢219 million. The second week of the exercise for revenue mobilisation in the Volta region has yielded GH¢21.5 million, and there are two more weeks to go.
Apart from the hospitals, the ECG has also served the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) with a demand notice to redeem its indebtedness of GH¢17 million accrued in bills between 2021 and the present, with the deadline for payment set to elapse on Tuesday.
source:locotvgh.com