Hundreds of angry residents of Kete Krachi in the Oti Region of the Republic of Ghana on Thursday hit the streets to protest against the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) for poor electricity supply to the area.
Clad in red attire and wearing red armbands and marching through the streets amidst chanting of war songs, the angry residents noted that the irregular power supply was impacting heavily on their daily lives.
Some of them held placards which bore writing such as: ‘Mr President, We Need Substation Now’, Mr. President, Krachi Needs Stable Power’, ‘No Stable Power No Disconnection and Dumsor Must Go Now’.
A hairdresser, Lydia Krah, who also joined the demonstration, noted that because of the situation, she is unable to use her dryer.
“We need stable electricity in Krachi so that we can do effective work,” she explained.
The demonstrators later presented a petition to Jalula Kajal Emmanuel, the Municipal Chief Executive of the area, who is the government’s representative.
Presenting the petition, the President of West Krachi Youth, Ntoso B. McCarthy, said: “It is so sad and disheartening to note that the people of Kete-Krachi and its environs have been enduring darkness every night, experiencing power outages for more than 6-7 times a day. Yes, the intermittent power outages in Krachi are unprecedented and not known in any part of the country.”
According to him, “On the few moments that the town gets power supply, the voltage is always low.”
The situation, he noted, is either low voltage or no power supply.
“Amid all these, our bills are usually very high and unreasonably above the normal bills paid by other subscribers. Why?” he posed.
He said residents of Kete-Krachi are tired, adding: “Our patience has been stretched to the limit and we can no longer bear the lack of concern for our problem.
“We feel neglected and think that NEDCO does not take us seriously,” he argued.
He demanded several things to be able to curtail the situation.
He said, “We demand a regular and efficient electric power supply henceforth.
“We also demand the establishment of the two or more sub-stations between Yendi and Kete-Krachi to minimize the load on the main line and to help in easy identification of faults anytime there is an outage.”
Mr. Ntoso concluded by sounding a word of caution to the workers of NEDCO in the Kete-Krachi Municipality not to embark on any disconnection exercise until a stable power supply is restored.
The West Krachi Municipal Chief Executive, Jalula Kajal Emmanuel, on his part, thanked the youth of Kete-Krachi for taking such a bold step and assured them that their grievances would be forwarded to the appropriate quarters to be addressed.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com