The Minister of State at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Herbert Krapa, has directed the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to sanction uncooperative staff whose activities downplay efforts to provide customers with prompt and quality services.
During a visit to a Customer Services Office of ECG, in Accra East, Mr Krapa indicated that the process for acquiring the meter must be compressed to avoid duplication, all to make the process simple and accessible to many customers.
At the briefing of the Minister by the ECG management, he expressed surprise and could not tell how middlemen, known as ‘goro boys’, get the contact details of customers who apply for meters through the ECG online process and “try to dupe such customers.”
“Heads must roll when we find that persistently some people are just making it difficult for us to provide quality, affordable and efficient service to our customers and the Ghanaian people,” Mr. Krapa stated.
During the meeting, the Minister and his deputy made a random call to the ECG complaint centre. The operator professionally interacted with the Deputy Minister in front of the entire gathering. The Deputy Minister was impressed with the operator’s feedback and suggested that he deserved a pay raise for his service.
He also stated that people should be rewarded for working diligently, but those who don’t perform well should be sanctioned.
He also expressed concern about customer satisfaction, emphasizing that customers’ sentiments indicate a gradual loss of trust in the service provider, ECG. Mr. Krapa mentioned that ECG must respond promptly to resolve customer complaints and challenges as this is the only way for ECG to regain the trust of its customers and Ghanaians in general.
Although ECG has several social media platforms for providing services and taking complaints and feedback from customers, the Minister encouraged the management to also use both traditional and modern media including the Information Services Department, and town hall meetings to also engage customers so that those who are not on social media will be aware of their services.
He added that educating the customers would also prevent situations where some people use the services of Goro Boys.
The Minister’s delegation included the Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr. Collins Adomako-Mensah; the Chief Director, Mrs. Wilhelmina Asamoah and the Director of Power, Mr. Solomon Adjettey.
