The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) has cut power to the District Magistrate Court ‘B’ in the Sunyani Municipality’s
According to Mr. Francis Babereyir, Sunyani Area Manager of NEDCo, the court owes GHS35,000, which is part of the overall amount owed by the Sunyani judicial service of GHS87,000.
NEDCo has been visiting institutions in Sunyani Municipality as part of a mass revenue mobilisation exercise, including the Sunyani Technical University, the Judicial Service Department, and the University of Energy and Natural Resources.
“We have been told that the accounts of the courts are processed at a centralized place at the High Court. We went there, but the accountant could not tell us why they have not been able to pay the remaining GHS 35,000. They have been able to pay only GH¢37,000 of their indebtedness is why we have come here and because they have not been able to settle that, that is why we have disconnected them”, he said.
Following the institution’s inability to settle its debt over power usage, VRA/NEDCo disconnected the Bolgatanga Technical University from the national grid in the Upper East Region.
The University owes VRA/NEDCo GHS1,083,215 but paid only GHS50,000 on Tuesday morning.
However, VRA/NEDCo authorities claim that the university’s payment was grossly inadequate, causing the institution to be disconnected.
Ing. Williams Asare, Billing and Revenue Officer of VRA/NEDCo in the Upper East Area, stated that they had engaged the institution on a payment plan, but it defaulted and paid only GH50,000 of the total amount.
“We engaged the school’s authorities and as of February [2023], their indebtedness was GH¢1,083,215, and it appeared that they had gone to pay GH¢50,000 as of this morning which is woefully inadequate, and we so engaged them to make some substantial payments, but they were unable to do so we had to disconnect the power supply to the university.”
Meanwhile, Ign. Eugene Addo, the Upper East Regional Area Manager of VRA/NEDCo, revealed that government entities in the region owe the VRA well over GH55 million and urged delinquent customers to settle their debts to prevent disconnection.
“Any customer who owes us is a target, and so we expect them to settle their indebtedness because our aim is not to disconnect customers but to collect our money and so anyone who doesn’t pay debts owed to us will be disconnected. Government agencies in the region owe us about GH¢55 million, and they are all part of the people we are targeting.”
