Hamza Suhuyini, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) communication team, has expressed concern over the ongoing financial struggles of state institutions, attributing the issue to a persistent culture of overdependence on government intervention.
In a recent appearance on Channel One TV, Suhuyini addressed the accountability and performance of chief executives in public agencies, with a particular focus on the management practices of state-owned enterprises.
“We have reached a stage in this country where chief executives must themselves be held accountable for their actions. Let us see how they are running their respective organisations. But this lazy approach of lumping everything on the government creates that protective layer for many of them to continue to be inefficient, especially when they are appointed to bring meaningful transformation to these sectors,” he said.
Suhuyini noted that several state institutions consistently neglect debts owed to other government agencies, particularly the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). He believes this stems from the assumption that the central government will always intervene to prevent disconnections.
“We do not take the debt we owe to other state institutions seriously. State institutions behave this way because they feel the government will intervene anytime there is going to be a disconnection, simply because they are all government service providers. So, the incentive for managers of these state institutions to fulfil their debt obligation to ECG is not there,” he explained.
His comments come in the wake of ECG’s nationwide disconnection initiative, which led to the disconnection of Ghana Water Limited (GWL) from the national grid on Tuesday, June 17, over an outstanding debt of more than GH¢999.6 million.
ECG officials have indicated that the ongoing disconnections are part of a broader effort to recover significant arrears owed by both public and private entities, aimed at improving the financial sustainability of the power sector.
Following the GWL disconnection, ECG’s task force also disconnected the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which owes GH¢3.15 million.