The Upper East Regional Hospital is likely to be disconnected from the national electricity grid by Monday, October 16, 2023, if the organisation’s management is unable to come up with a significant portion of the Ghc3.6 million owed to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO).
The Customer Service Officer for NEDCo in the Upper East Region, Madam Alima Bamie, made these comments when she spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show today, Friday, October 13, 2023.
“For the Upper East Regional Hospital, next week, we will be going there. The meeting we had with them, we haven’t heard anything from them. We want to engage them the last time, next week. If we can’t come to an agreement, we would have no option but to disconnect them.”
“As for the regional hospital, let me just say that next week we will be visiting them. We would not want to disconnect but if nothing fruitful comes out of it, they shouldn’t blame us but then decisions that we have taken over the months with them. These are discussions we have had over the months with them and they are not fulfilling their part of the bargain. If they are disconnected on Monday and anything happens, they should know it is the decisions of the people there that are leading us to where we are now,” she said.
It would be recalled that the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) in the Upper East Region began its one-month disconnection exercise targeting private and public institutions with huge debts.
It says Upper East Regional Hospital, the Ministry of Communications’ cell site, and Bolgatanga Technical University are the biggest debtors.
Briefing the media before the exercise, Eugene Addo, Area Manager of VRA/NEDCo said the regional hospital owes NEDCo close to GHc3.6 million and has since failed to commit to a payment plan.
“The Regional Hospital owes us GHc3.6 million cedis, the Ministry of Communications’ cell site is GHc946 thousand, and Bolgatanga Technical University’s two campuses owe us GHc850 and 420 thousand each (1.2 million). They need to pay because it is too much.”
Speaking about the total debt owed in the Upper East and North East Regions, Mr. Addo said Ghc 156.6 million is owed, made up of 52 percent of the private sector and 42 percent of the public sector.
He said the exercise is targeted at getting GHc26 million.
