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10.03.2019 Feature Article

The Beauty v The Beast

The Beauty v The Beast
10.03.2019 LISTEN

This is just a brief comparison of Intercity State Transport Company Ltd (STC), and the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL).

Since the assumption of office of Nana Akufo-Addo as the Chief Executive of the Republic of Ghana, and his subsequent appointment of some individuals as Ministers, Managing Directors (MDs), Board Chairmen, etc, to aid him achieve his set objectives, it is in the right direction that a study of this nature is undertaken to establish the performance or non performance of some of these appointees in respect of the contribution that these entities the said appointees have been tasked to head, has made to the Ghanaian economy at large, and more specifically, whether such a contribution is helping to project the image of the President, positively or otherwise.

Since the STC Board was reconstituted under the current NPP government, some great strides have been made.

First, latest state-of-the-art buses, have been imported and deployed on the roads. These buses offer customers more comfort, and other add-ons. For example, electrical sockets are installed onboard these buses to enable customers have their electrical gadgets powered, while on the move.

In addition, urinal facilities are provided onboard, so there is no longer the need for the buses to stop for the customer (s) to urinate.

Security has also been beefed up on these buses. The Military, per an agreement with STC, makes it personnel available on every STC bus on the road to secure the safety of its customers. This measure is a response to the activities of armed robbers on the road.

Staff conditions of service has seen a marked improvement and the Corporate Social Responsibility aspect of STC, has also been upped. What a beauty!!

The President will have no regrets whatsoever in putting the current STC management in place.

On the other hand, at GCWL, within the last 12 months, there has been numerous agitations and demonstrations by staff of the company against management for its inefficiency and alleged corrupt acts that bother mainly on blatant violations of the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663), as amended, and the recruitment of cronies.

Furthermore, it is alleged that GWCL owes its main utility provider, that is, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), billions of Ghana Cedis. For example, ECG is alleged to owe the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), in the Upper East Region (UER), over GHS 7 Million in unpaid bills. This position, it is alleged, is a replica of the wider picture across the country.

It is interesting to know that, while NEDCo in particular and ECG in general are not cutting off supply of power to GWCL for non payment of electricity bills, GWCL mischievously cut off supply of water to the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) about 3 weeks ago for alleged non payment of water bills running into a mere thousands of Ghana Cedis.

Even though officials of GWCL tried to parry this allegation away, their explanation for the discontinuation of water supply to UEW during the period in question, is childish, and probably makes sense to only the fabricators of this explanation and NOT the discerning UEW community. The university community is not that daft so as to be easily misled by ‘babies with very sharp teeth’. Former President Rawlings omitted the “very” from his widely acknowledged comment, and am politely adding on to his statement.

In sum, GWCL is a ‘bomb’, waiting to explode! There is perceived systemic and endemic corruption at GWCL, and if independent and transparent investigations are not carried out immediately, it will collapse at any moment.

My sympathies to Ing. Dr. Clifford Braimah, the MD of GWCL. One can choose where to live, but one cannot choose their neighbours. This is the exact situation that Dr. Braimah finds himself in. This is a brilliant, clever and fine gentleman, who is determined to do his best for his country, but unfortunately, the ‘Chief Watchman’ appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo to ‘keep watch’ on Dr. Braimah’s activities to help achieve the President’s vision, is only interested in stealing as much as he can.

I humbly urge my uncle Martin Amidu, to seek counseling before he starts investigations into the affairs of GWCL, otherwise what he will uncover, would be heartbreaking, and reasonable Ghanaians will not want to see Martin Amidu with a ‘broken heart’.

GWCL is now basically a beast, tormenting innocent Ghanaians and stifling the President’s vision to rid Ghana of corruption.

Regrettably, the President will have regrets putting the current management of GWCL in place when he sees the rot at GWCL in a file on his desk.

In a write-up last week, I called for investigations into the affairs of UEW, thus my employer, so my latest call for investigations into the activities of GWCL, is neither malice afterthought nor in bad faith. It is in the interest of Mother Ghana that we have these investigations to put contentious matters to rest.

I wish to conclude by stating that Allah and my Quran suffices for me, so all the voodoo and shrines directed at me by these thieves, are ineffective and useless. The things that they do and believe that their satanic and evil actions are in darkness, are in reality, being staged in the open and in bright sunlight. I see everything by Allah’s grace.

The plans to recruit hoodlums to attack, rob and murder me, are happenings that am aware of. Also, the plan to plant a lady on me in order to trap me, is something that cannot escape my watchful eye. The said lady has already made contact with me, and am patiently waiting to deal with her with the ‘powers vested in me’.

The ‘Brutus’ (where the word brutal is derived from, and murderer of Julius Caesar), behind these evil plots, continue to keep in touch with me through phone calls and text messages, so that eventually if the untoward happens to me, he will easily be cleared as being a suspect, since he will then be able to prove to the investigators that he was a friend and not a foe. Insha Allah, Brutus’ evil plans, will consume him in no time! Amen!!

Alhassan Salifu Bawah
(son of an upright peasant farmer)

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