The Executive Secretary, Ing. Oscar Amonoo-Neizer of the Energy Commission welcomed the GECA executives to the meeting and asked Mr Steven Yomoh to administer the opening prayer.
After the prayer, the meeting commenced with an introduction by the Energy Commission executives and the GECA executives.
The President, Mr Awal Sakib Mohammed spoke extensively about GECA’S relationship with the Commission and its contribution to the Electrical Wiring Program.
The Executive Secretary commended GECA for paying a courtesy call on them to formally introduce the new executives and discuss pertinent issues.
The Executive Secretary mentioned that on 20th September 2022 the registration of Electrical Contractors will be formally launched and GECA will be invited to commemorate the event. They also mentioned that plans are underway to open other regional branches to disseminate information properly.
The Executive Secretary also bemoaned that; unscrupulous people are marring the reputation of contractors. They go about extorting huge sums of money from customers before meter installations are done. Some of these electricians go about claiming to be staff of the Energy Commission and fleece them of their money with concocted stories. They implored GECA to be on the lookout for such people amongst them to help ensure sanity in the system.
Mr Awal Mohammed admitted to his awareness of such corrupt practices and misrepresentation taking place in the system and promised the Association will try its best to help curb the situation.
He also suggested that the application should be both online and manual since not all Contractors are techno-savvy.
He further tabled that, one of the key problems affecting Electrical Contractors is the lack of separation of contracts which the Association has been fighting for many years. He said the excuse by the authorities GECA have always engaged has always been about the delay of work. He elaborated that, if contracts are lumped up and awarded to the Civil Contractor, for want of enormous profit, they resort to cheap labour and hire unqualified electricians. He posited that, if this issue is not resolved as soon as possible, we may lose most of the government properties to fire outbreaks in the near future. He further submitted that, if the Commission is able to lead this charge for contract separation, more contractors will be encouraged to register with them.
Mr. Awal Mohammed also cited that, couple of weeks ago he travelled to South Africa, and he took the opportunity to do industrial research on how contracts are awarded there. From his research, in their jurisdiction, a contract is awarded to the civil contractor and after that, the contractor obliged to open up for competitive tendering from other technical areas.
He also mentioned that a task force has to be formed to ensure the local content regulation is enforced in order to create more jobs for our local Contractors and most importantly our members.
Mr. Awal Mohammed also made an admission that, there is an unfortunate misconception that, there is an unhealthy tension between the Energy Commission and the GECA. He said most of these misapprehensions are self-imposed and non-existent. According to him, in order to attract members and prevent mushroom groups from springing up, we need to be more attractive and strengthen our relationship with our stakeholders.
Mr. John Takyi Micah also asked whether the registration encompasses the external works too. The Commission replied that, it’s a registration for internal works only and that the ECG is still in charge of the external wiring regulation.
Mr. Nii Ashong promised that registration module (online & manual) proposed by GECA will be considered. He said they initially thought that every contractor should have the capacity to register online.
Mr. Nii Ashong also referred to their framework that, GECA will be heavily involved in the application
process. Mr. Awal asked how GECA comes in when most of the application will be done online.
Mr. Steven Yomoh explained that, after registration, it will be a requirement for GECA to verify the applicant’s office facility and approve before the application is accepted.
The Commission also mentioned that the data of the registered Contractors will be submitted to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to ensure only registered electrical contractors are awarded big government contracts.
The Commission also advised the Association to officially write to them concerning the issue of Contract Separation and then a proper stakeholder consultation can follow. They promised doing their best to serve the interest of Contactors for our mutual good.
Mr. Nii Ashong mentioned that the Commission is ready to make a presentation to contractors to explain the framework further.
The National Administrator, Mr. Emmanuel Semedor suggested that such stakeholder engagement can be held by the Energy Commission in collaboration with the Ghana Electrical Contractors Association. The Commission accepted the proposal and promised to do that.
The Executive Secretary, Ing. Oscar Amonoo-Neizer officially presented the Ghana Electrical Wiring Regulation Guidelines to the GECA President, Mr. Awal Sakib Mohammed and further assured the executives his availability for further engagements.
