The committee of inquiry set up to investigate the fire outbreak which ravaged the warehouse of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at Oduom Bebre in the Ashanti Region in December 2014 has concluded that the fire was the work of arsonists.
The committee submitted it’s report to the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor in Accra on Friday and said their investigations pointed to the fact that arsonist deliberately torched the warehouse.
According to the committee, chaired by Mr Charles Nii Adama Akrong from the National Security, about US$2.8million worth of prepaid metres were destroyed by the fire.
Graphiconline’s Emelia Ennin Abbey who witnessed the presentation ceremony reported that the committee established that some days before the fire outbreak, about 1000 prepaid metres were dispatched to the warehouse but were later moved out.
During investigations, ECG officials gave contradictory information as to when the metres were moved out from the warehouse.
From the committee’s investigations, they gathered after examining the debris from the scene of the incident, that those 1000 metres were not part of items destroyed at the warehouse.
Sanctions
According to our reporter, the chairman of the committee said their investigations pointed to the work of arsonists and therefore recommended that the report should be forwarded to the National Security for further investigations.
It also recommended that the ECG should take administrative sanctions against some of its officers who were said to have violated their code of ethics.
It also established that the electrical wiring at the warehouse was not done by a qualified and licensed electrician.
Other members of the committee were: Mr Yahaya Enusah from the office of the National Security Council; Nana Samuel Brenya, Ghana National Fire Service; Mr John Addo, Ghana Institution of Engineers; Mr Raymond Cimpi, Ghana Police Service; Mr Kwei Mensah Ashidam, Ghana Insurers Association, and Mr Richard Agbotame, Secretary and the Legal Counsel at the Ministry of Power.
Click to watch photos of the presentation ceremony
Background
It will be recalled that on December 21, 2014, fire gutted a warehouse of the ECG which led to the destruction of about 21,000 prepaid meters and accessories belonging to the company in the Ashanti Region.
Following that, the Minister of Power, Dr Kwabena Donkor, directed the board of ECG to immediately interdict some senior management members in the region believed to have had a hand in the issue.
Dr Donkor named the acting General Manager, Mr Emmanuel T. Akinie; the Asokwa District Manager, Mr Yakubu Harrison; the Regional Commercial Manager, Mr Michael T.B. Boadu; the GEDAP II Prepayment Project Manager, Mr Kwadwo Ayensu; the Materials and Transport Director, Alhaji Daubi Alhassan Jango, and the Project Accountant, Mr Samuel Ofori, as the persons to be sanctioned.
In spite of that, the board of the ECG said it could not execute the directive by the minister, as that amounted to interference which was inimical to the company’s code.
However, Dr Donkor stated that since the company belonged to the government, the ministry had the mandate to intervene in situations that would affect the nation negatively.
