The national leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has paid a working visit to the Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo areas as part of ongoing membership drive and reorganization activities in the Eastern Region.
The visit also comes in the wake of a recent standoff between indigenes of these communities and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), resulting in weeks of power outage in the areas.
“Having followed developments in the Krobo enclave and interacted with the Chiefs and people of the area, the party has become aware of the longstanding impasse between residents and the ECG over the installation of prepaid meters, which not long ago degenerated into violent protests, leading to loss of lives in process,” the NDC said in a statement issued by National Chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
“The party’s leadership is appalled at how a simple process of installing prepaid meters for residents in these communities has been badly managed by the Akufo-Addo government, the Ministry of Energy and Management of the Electricity Company of Ghana.
“We hold the view that the military-backed forced installation of prepaid meters in the area without proper community engagement and sensitization was completely unnecessary.”
The recent crisis brought economic activities in the Krobo area to a halt and hospitals threatened to shut down.
Schools, businesses and households all bore the brunt of the nearly one-month freeze on electricity supply.
The NDC condemned the seeming “high-handed” approach by government to resolving the impasse.
“We sympathize with the residents of these communities who have been at the receiving end of such mistreatment by the government through its agents.”
The party called on government to, as a matter of urgency, withdraw all military personnel who have been deployed to the Krobo area in order to ease the tension and give way for citizens to go about their normal lives freely.
“The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government must change its modus operandi and adopt a humane approach in addressing the ‘Kroboland’-ECG crisis.”
