The Staff of Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), are demanding a total withdrawal of the Energy Sector Bill sent to parliament by the Ministry of Energy.
The angry VRA/NEDCo staff, in a protest in Tamale to register their displeasure, disclosed that even though the Energy Minister, Herbert Krapa, has issued a stay of the said bill in parliament, they still demand a total withdrawal.
“We want a total withdrawal of the energy bill from parliament. Until then we will continue to put pressure on the government to rescind its decision. We are hoping that the government will do this as soon as possible so that we can serve our customers very well.”
The Northern Area Senior Staff Association Chairman, Emmanuel Asare, noted that they do not trust politicians and for that matter, the stay of the bill can be revisited anytime by the government.
“We, the VRA/NEDCo staff, are of the view that the decision is not in the interest of the companies and the country as a whole.”
He stated that the issue of the Energy Sector Bill is affecting productivity in the various VRA/NEDCo operational areas and urged the government to act urgently.
“We are supposed to serve our customers, but because of the issues we have gathered here protesting to show our displeasure about the energy bill in parliament.”
Asare appealed to the government to listen to them and withdraw the energy sector bill from parliament.
It will be recalled that some weeks ago, staff of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), over the supposed merger of their company with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The protesting staff indicated that they were not consulted by the government before sending a supposed merger bill to Parliament and called on the government to rescind its decision to continue with the merger.
According to them, the draft bill sent to parliament intends to merge NEDCo/ECG and VRA/Bui, which they believe is not in the interest of the country.
