You don’t have power to ban ECG from Kroboland; chief to irate youth

The Manya Krobo Traditional Authority in the eastern part of Ghana has condemned the protests by some youth of the area against the power distribution company, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

The youth group has been demanding the ECG to cancel the debt the residents owe for over four years.

The youth claim their ancestors were promised free electricity when the country was building the Akosombo Dam, the country’s source of hydropower.

However, this claim has been denied by the Volta River Authority (VRA), operator of the 1040 MW Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam.

Last week, over 7000 residents of Manya Krobo, led by the United Krobo Foundation, hit the streets to demand the ECG to vacate the town.

They wanted the VRA to supply electricity to the area.

However, Nene Sakite I, Konor of Manya Krobo and President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, has issued a statement that nobody has the right to proclaim any ban on a legally constituted public establishment in Ghana from operating in the Krobo land.

It said the activities of the group was a threat to national security, adding that during the past four years, the Manya Krobo Traditional Council engaged them and advised the leaders to stop their nefarious activities against the state but they clandestinely continued to operate, inciting the public.

“It was through one of such demonstrations that a few innocent people lost their lives through their encounter with the police in 2019, in Somanya and Odumase, yet they could not relent,” it stated.

The Council, therefore, appealed to the National Security apparatus to investigate the circumstances leading to the activities of the group and its leadership as well as their motives.

The Council described as false the assertion from the leadership of the youth group that the chiefs of Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo purportedly signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Ghana for Krobos to start enjoying free electricity, 50 years after the construction of the Akosombo Dam.

They also called on the ECG to expedite the resolution of all outstanding issues with the Krobo customers to bring sanity into the area.

Source: Classfmonline.com