'Blackout intentional; ECG excuse preposterous' – Krobo group, as it condemns United Krobo Foundation

A group calling itself Coalition of Krobo Youth, which has condemned the threatening actions of another youth group in the area, United Krobo Foundation, against state power distributor Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), has said the recent total blackout in Manya and Yilo Krobo is “intentional”.

At a press conference on Thursday, 9 December 2021, the group said ECG is using the "sins" of a few people to punish the entire Krobo population of about 200,000.

It said the relocation of the ECG's Somanya office to Juapong in the Volta region and the sudden localised blackout coupled with the "deployment of generator plants to the Somanya Polyclinic, Atua Government hospital and St. Martin’s hospital at Agormanya confirm the suspicions that the blackout is intentional".

The group, however, noted that "ECG cannot use the sin of a handful to punish the entire Krobo population of over 200, 000 people. That is unacceptable!"

It added that the "excuse" by ECG that "the blackout is a result of the breakdown of their transformers is preposterous".

"The mistake by a few should not be brought on the majority", the group stressed, adding: "The chiefs, MPs, MCEs and former DCEs, former MPs, and many opinion leaders have come out openly to condemn the United Krobo Foundation for their actions, which have brought the hard-won name of Krobos into disrepute and pledged to safeguard every public property should the said miscreants try any other thing. This is refreshing and should give the ECG hope that stakeholders are ready to defend and protect them".

Read the coalition’s full statement below:

PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE COALITION OF KROBO YOUTH ON THE ECG IMPASSE AND THE BLACKOUT IN KROBOLAND SINCE MONDAY 6TH DECEMBER 2021

The media, fellow Krobo youth assembled, chiefs, opinion leaders, businessmen and women present, ladies and gentlemen. We, the undersigned, write on behalf of the Coalition of Krobo Youth and state as follows:

1. That we do not support the view by the United Krobo Foundation that we Krobos won’t work with ECG but want to deal directly with VRA. We know VRA generates power, and that GRIDCO distributes the power for ECG to sell the power and therefore it will be ill will on our part to fight against such a national strategic asset.

2. That we don’t support the ultimatum given the ECG to leave Kroboland in three weeks. We are prepared to give security for ECG to function.

3. That we Krobos don’t want prepaid meters. It is not true. All over the country, prepaid meters have become the order of the day. We in Krobland cannot say we don’t like prepaid meters. We are aware that people who had issues with their bills were allowed to submit them for corrections. Anyone who has not taken advantage of this should do so immediately. The effect of this blackout in Kroboland has brought enormous hardship to the people including state institutions.

Sadly, all the rumours about the plans of ECG to punish Krobos have come to light.

1. The relocation of their office to Juapong.

2. A total blackout in Krobo area.

The deployment of generator plants to the Somanya Polyclinic, Atua Government hospital and St. Martins hospital at Agormanya confirm the suspicions that the Blackout is intentional.

Ladies and gentlemen, traders, Secondary Schools, Universities, and businesses are bearing the brunt of this blackout. For instance, the private Public Health Institution in Kpong, Ensign College, spent not less than GHS 6, 000.00 to keep their generator on in 24 hours. Is this sustainable? Will this not affect their finances and further lead to the layoff of employees? These are Institutions paying their legitimate bills and do not deserve the treatment from the power distributor. To further aggravate the issue, what about the cold store operator whose life and family depend on such business? How would they be feeling in the midst of all these?

As a result of that, the Government is being seen as uncaring and this will negatively affect the government. ECG cannot use the sin of a handful to punish the entire Krobo population of over 200, 000 people. That is unacceptable!

The excuse by ECG that, the blackout is a result of the breakdown of their Transformers is preposterous.

The mistake by a few should not be brought on the majority. The chiefs MPs, MCEs and former DCEs, former MPs, and many opinion leaders have come out openly to condemn the United Krobo Foundation for their actions which have brought the hard-won name of Krobos into disrepute and pledged to safeguard every public property should the said miscreants try any other thing. This is refreshing and should give the ECG hope that stakeholders are ready to defend and protect them.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are by this letter serving notice to United Krobo Foundation that we are ready for them. We are aware of their extortions and would never sit down for them to use their selfish gains to drag the name of Krobos in through the mud. We will meet them boot-for-boot at the peril of our lives. If state securities that are paid to protect us fail to arrest these miscreants, we will take the law into our own hands and deal with them mercilessly. The name of KROBOLAND which our forefathers fought for shall be protected.

Ladies and gentlemen, Krobos are hardworking, humble, respectful, and committed to development. You can find a Krobo in any corner of this country and people can attest to the fact that Krobos are humble and hardworking. We will not allow some selfish and self-centred individuals to soil the name of our land and birth.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me state unequivocally that some of us and many law-abiding citizens of Kroboland are paying our legitimate monthly bills and we do not deserve this wholesome approach by the ECG in the name of punishment. We are prepared to work with any government agency, private sector, and investor who wish us well.

We, therefore, passionately appeal to management and the Board of ECG to reconsider their exit from Somanya and come back. We want to encourage all those who owe/ or have issues with their Electricity bills to settle it through dialogue and mutual understanding. We wish to further state that we the youth are ever ready to provide the ECG staff with 24-hour protection through our watchdog committees that will be launched very soon to safeguard and protect public properties since the security setups including the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), the Police Service have woefully failed to arrest those miscreants causing problems and stoking conflicts between the citizens and the ECG.

God bless Kroboland

God bless our homeland Ghana and

Make it great and strong.

Thank you.

Signed

Frederick Narh Okley

Convenor

0208325347

Samuel Nartey

Secretary

0240273064

Peter Boateng