Manya Krobo chiefs lead thousands of people in a protest against prepaid meters and military personnel.
Thousands of residents of Somanya, Odumase-Krobo, Agormanya, Kpongunor, Kpong, and other Krobo communities in the Eastern Region took to the streets on Friday to protest the ongoing deployment of prepaid meters and military personnel to the area to ensure installation.
Following months of hostility between residents and the ECG over the payment of electricity bills, the soldiers, who have been deployed since June 14, 2022, are assisting the ECG with the installation of new prepaid meters.
The use of military personnel during the exercise has been justified by the ECG.
During the first phase of the exercise, the company is installing 3000 meters as part of a larger goal of replacing 50,000 postpaid meters with prepaid meters.
Despite the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, ordering the Defence Minister to withdraw immediately, the military remains actively engaged in the exercise.
The order came after the Member of Parliament for the area, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, stated on the floor on Friday, June 24, that the presence of the military men is raising tensions in the community.
The demonstrators, who were dressed in red, wielded placards, and chanted Nadu songs, demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing exercise as well as the immediate withdrawal of the soldiers from the community.
The 15-kilometer walk began around 8 a.m. at the Akutunya lorry station in Somanya and ended at 1 p.m. at the Kpong main lorry station, where the PRO of the divisional chiefs read out a petition on behalf of the chiefs.
The petition was signed by Nene Tetteh Zogli III, Divisional Chief of Piengua, Nene Bediako Baah Mualla III, Divisional Chief of Dorm, Nene Olepeme Sakinor Nanor I, Chief of Suisi-Okwenya, and John Baah, Chiefs' Secretary.
Nene Olepeme Sakinor Nanor I, who delivered the petition to the demonstrators, called for the immediate withdrawal of the military men who were installing the meters, claiming that their presence was intimidating the public.
"The presence of armed military men in Kroboland is intimidating; therefore, they should be withdrawn immediately because Krobos are living in fear and discomfort," according to the petition.
The chiefs demanded the establishment of a committee of inquiry to investigate the financial saga in the overbilling and the immediate replacement of prepaid meters with post-paid meters, accusing the ECG of using the installation of the meters as a ploy to avoid the financial malfeasance in the overbilling.
Furthermore, the chiefs demanded that all accrued debts between 2014 and July 2022 be cancelled, and that post-paid billing resume from the following month after evidence of correcting billing system anomalies was provided.
Nene Tetteh Zogli III, Divisional Chief of Piengua, threatened the soldiers with Nadu (war chants) if they were stationed anywhere in the community installing the prepaid meters. "From tomorrow, wherever soldiers come with the intention of repairing prepaid meters, they will be met with the Nadu," he said.
According to him, Krobos has stated unequivocally that they do not want the prepaid meters. "We don't want it today, and we don't want it tomorrow," the chief said.
He rejected the ECG's claim that the prepaid metering system is a government policy.
"The prepaid meters are not something that must be brought to Kroboland," he explained. Some claim it is government policy, while others claim it is not. The ECG has stolen from us over the years, and they are using this method to reclaim their debt; they are looking for new ways to steal from us."
In a petition to President Akufo-Addo, the Council of Churches and the Christian Leaders Council of the Krobo Area, which joined the demonstration, described the installation exercise as "very dangerous, deadly, unlawful, and illegal."
The group said the deployment of the soldiers was illegal and unfair, and that Krobos were not at war and were not prepared for war. "We want to establish that the exercise of bringing 200 or more military men to the Krobo area for the purpose of fixing prepaid meters is illegal and unfair because we are not at war and are not prepared for war," he said.
To address the issue, the Council of Churches and the Christian Leaders Council urged the ECG to demand all accountability and return monies wrongfully taken from its customers since 2007, to relocate all illegally connected electrical poles, to reverse any war idea or battle attitudes, and to hold additional consultations with all stakeholders.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0