Management of the Bolgatanga Polytechnic have been given a 14-day ultimatum to pay an amount of GHC713,327.78 it owes the Volta River Authority as electricity debt or risk being disconnected from the national grid.
The school was disconnected on July 7, 2017 over its indebtedness to VRA and that greatly affected both academic and administrative work.
The management of the school on Monday, July 17, 2017 pleaded with VRA to reconnect the school to the national grid to enable authorities for the appropriate authorities to settle the arrears.
Speaking to Citi News, the Acting Area Manager of VRA Bolgatanga Station, Mr. Abubakari Gbanzaba indicated that, the indebtedness of the Polytechnic and many other institutions was affecting the operation of VRA, thus the disconnection.
He said the Bolgatanga Polytechnic main campus owed VRA a sum of GHC346,652.72 while its Bukeri campus owes GHC366,675.78, adding that, the last payment was in 2013.
“We (VRA) have agreed to connect the Polytechnic to electricity today July 17, 2017 after a plea by management of the school to enable them write correspondence to the authorities that be, to settle the arrears and they have up to 3rd August to make payment of their electricity bills. failure to do so will force us to disconnect them,” Mr. Gbanzaba noted.
Mr. Gbanzaba bemoaned the huge indebtedness of educational and health institutions as well as departments and agencies to VRA hence needed a multi-faceted approach to get them to settle their bills.
“Educational institutions within Bolga, Talensi and Bongo districts owe VRA GHC3,136,222.31 as at May 2017. The Bolga Regional hospital Out Patient Department (OPD) alone owe GHC1,310,850.34 while the Bongo district hospital owe GHC69,529.22, both made the last payment of electricity bills in 2012.”
Mr. Gbanzaba stated that, his outfit have served all MDAs, Educational and Health institutions within the Bolga, Talensi and Bongo districts a demand notice to pay all outstanding electricity bills within two weeks or risk being disconnected.
He added that, the exercise will be extended to the Navrongo and Bawku VRA stations to ensure that customers clear their indebtedness to VRA.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
