Bad electrical contractors will be prosecuted – Energy Commission
Electrical contractors found to have done “bad jobs” in the country would henceforth be prosecuted, the Energy Commission warned on Wednesday.
Nii Adolf Ashong, Technical Regulation Officer of the Commission gave the warning at a day’s sensitization seminar in Ho for electrical contractors in the Volta region on “Ghana Electrical Wiring Certification Guidelines.”
He said the prosecution of offenders would help ensure professionalism in the sector and reduce the incidence of fire disasters in the country.
Nii Ashong noted that about 90 per cent of fire disasters recorded in the country were caused by electrical faults and stated the Commission’s resolve to “streamline the profession.”
He said a unique code would be given to all licensed electrical technicians, so that they could be traced for their works and recommended or sanctioned.
Nii Ashong said as part of measures to ensure professionalism in the sector, only persons licensed by the Commission would be allowed to operate from February 2015.
He said all practitioners except those licensed by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Electrical Contractors Association (GECA) before 2007, would take written and practical examinations to be licensed to operate.
Nii Ashong said practitioners with ECG and GECA certificates would also have to apply to the Commission for licenses to operate.
He said implementation of the guidelines would add value to practitioners and enhance the image of the profession and called for cooperation from all.
Mr Godfred K. Deku, Vice President of GECA urged electricians to study the guidelines and go by its provisions, and urged government and other stakeholders to enforce the law on the auditing of old buildings to forestall fire disasters.
Mr Jasper Amudzi, Volta Regional Chairman of GECA said the seminar was timely, in view of the increasing number of fires the country was registering.
Mr Franklin Philip Masiku, Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the Volta region said the country recorded a total of 598 fires in the year 2012.
He said between January and May 2013, a total of 447 fires were recorded nationwide with the Volta region registering 75 cases.
Mr Masiku said out of the 75 fire cases in the Region, 10 were caused by electrical faults.
Some participants during an open forum, appealed to government to award electrical contracts to qualified electrical contractors direct instead of awarding them to consultants who sub-let those contracts to electricians.
Source: GNA