The Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Dr. Shafic Suleman, as part of his official working visit in the Upper East Region, paid a courtesy call on Regional Minister Akamugri Atanga Donatus on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
The visit forms part of the commission’s deliberate and sustained efforts to strengthen institutional collaboration with key stakeholders and to discuss critical issues affecting water and electricity service delivery in the region.
Dr. Suleman thanked the minister for the warm reception offered him and the team, and congratulated him on his appointment as regional minister. He emphasised that the visit was a formal one to introduce the commission’s presence and leadership to the minister, who is the custodian and landlord of the Upper East Region.
He further indicated that the visit was to explore collaborative strategies to address service delivery challenges in water and electricity.
Dr. Suleman outlined the commission’s national initiative aimed at proactive stakeholder engagement, identifying utility service bottlenecks and proposing solutions. The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) is committed to timely interventions, and plans to launch a virtual stakeholder platform for real-time customer concern resolution.
“We are taking a more proactive model of regulation. Collaboration and decentralisation of regulation services is the best practice,” he said.
Dr. Suleman noted that the commission is grateful to the regional minister for being so helpful in managing the region to ensure the quality of service delivery.
For his part, the regional minister expressed confidence that the collaboration between the two state institutions will yield positive results.
According to the minister, one priority of his administration is to work with PURC to address the challenges faced by consumers of water and electricity services in the region.
The minister indicated that Upper East Region is delighted to partner with PURC, and believes that the commission’s participation in Assembly meetings will ensure that the rights of consumers in the region are protected.
“We assure PURC of our unwavering support, 24/7. We encourage PURC to reach out to the minister’s office whenever necessary,” he said, adding: “On behalf of the Upper East Region, the chiefs, the people and opinion leaders, we look forward to working with PURC to address pressing issues, including streetlight challenges.”
The regional minister also noted that the Bongo area faces significant water challenges, with a water table containing fluoride and chlorine which requires urgent attention. He made a request to the commission to see how best to resolve the issue.
“We are committed to supporting PURC in their efforts to regulate utilities and to ensure effective and efficient working relationships between the commission, board and management. Let us work together to address these challenges and improve the lives of our people,” Mr. Donatus added.
