KATH Refuses To Pay GH₵27 Million Debt Owed ECG, Says Bill Must Be Shared With NMTC
- Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital says it is erroneous of the Electricity Company of Ghana to charge them GH₵27 million for power consumption
- They say they share a line with the Nurses and Midwifery Training College thus the bill must be shared
- They had earlier called for their power to be decoupled from the NMTC but the ECG had not addressed their issue
Management of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is strongly refuting owing GH₵27 million to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for power consumption.
KATH is one of 91 health facilities across eight regions facing disconnection from the national grid due to unpaid bills.
Source: Getty Images
Head of Public Relations at KATH, Kwame Frimpong,?says the hospital’s refusal to pay the GH₵27 million debt is due to the facility sharing a line with the Nursing and Midwifery College (NMTC) in the area.
Speaking on JoyFM, he argued that while the hospital is not against paying its bills, the GH₵27 million being mentioned by the ECG does not constitute power the facility consumed by itself.
He said several requests from KATH to the ECG to decouple the hospital from the Nursing and Midwifery Training College had fallen on deaf ears, leading to such difficult situations.
“So we’ve asked for some time now that they should decouple us from that line and so as soon as they’re able to solve that challenge, we’ll take the necessary steps to effect the payment of the bills,” he said.
KATH can't pay bills with IGF
Mr Frimpong further explained that despite the fact that KATH makes in excess of GH₵80 million through internally generated funds (IGF), it is woefully inadequate to address the facility’s power supply issues and at the same time its operational costs.
“As I indicated, the consumables and other things that we need to run this hospital, it is on the basis of those things that the tariffs were structured. The tariff structure does not contain any component for the payment of energy bills,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Head of Revenue Collection at the ECG, Grace Gershon says until these health facilities settle at least 70% of their outstanding bills, the company will proceed to disconnect them.
ECG to disconnect 91 hospitals over GH¢261 million debt
YEN.com.gh announced that the Electricity Company of Ghana is set to disconnect 91 hospitals from the national grid due to outstanding debts.
The health facilities, including Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital, collectively owe GH¢261 million.
This move is part of the ECG’s comprehensive effort to recover funds owed by customers in order to strengthen its operational capabilities.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
