The Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr Shafic Suleman, as part of a planned and sustained effort to familiarise himself with the operations of the Commission across the country, embarked on his first Regional Tour in the Upper West Region.
During his visit, Dr Suleman paid a courtesy call on the Upper West Regional Minister, Charles Lwanga Puozuing, to officially inform the Minister, who doubles as the chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), of the presence of the Executive Secretary in the Region.
Dr Suleman explained the purpose of the visit, indicating that, as part of the mandate of the Commission, he must engage all stakeholders across the utility value chain to appreciate better, the challenges existing in their operations and to tailor appropriate solutions towards resolving them, citing the Regional Tours as the best opportunity to assess some of these challenges.
Dr. Suleman urged the Minister to fall on the Commission without hesitation whenever the Region encounters challenges in the water and electricity service sectors.
The Upper West Regional Minister on his part, welcomed the entire PURC team and expressed his joy and gratitude for making Upper West the first choice of such an institutional tour: “You and your team are always welcome to Upper West; it is your home and remains your home”
Puozuing pleaded with the PURC team to, as a matter of urgency, help resolve some;
recurring intermittencies of power outages and no water flow without prior notice;
power outages and fluctuations on the main Wa–Burkina Faso distribution line which causes outages to several communities along the way and critical facilities, such as the Wa Teaching Hospital.
The Minister suggested that a dedicated line and transformer should be assigned to the hospital due to the critical nature of the services they provide within and outside the region.
The Executive Secretary of PURC was accompanied by Alhaji Jabaru Abukari, Director for Regional Operations and Consumer Services; Dr. Eric Kofi Obutey, Director for Research and Corporate Affairs; Mr. Edmond Kweku Tuffour, Deputy Director, Regional Operations and Consumer Services responsible for the Northern Zone; Dr. Robert Tia Abdulai Aziz. Head of Corporate Affairs; Reginald Osei Asibey, Finsnce Officer and Ms. Fauzia Tanko, the Secretary to the Executive Secretary.
The Upper West Regional team of PURC, comprising Mr. Ali Abdul Wadud, Regional Manager; Amin Bashiru Nuhu, Regional Public Relations and External Affairs Officer; Bilal Alhassan Pelpuo, Complaints Officer; Mrs. Zenabu Gyamfi, Administrative Officer; and Mr. Yussif Belko Mumuni, Transport Officer were all present to assist in the success of the Executive Secretary’s tour of the region.