Teshie Threatens Mills & Ex-Miss Ghana

….Over Installation of ECG Pre-Paid Meters

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) risks losing both the Presidential and Parliamentary votes in the Ledzokuku Constituency in December, over what has been described as an “irrational decision” by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to install pre-paid meters in densely populated compound houses in the Teshie community.

The residents, who are predominantly fishermen, are particularly disgusted at ECG’s decision to give compound houses with over 20 tenants, for example a single pre-paid meter. They insist that the new meters apart from becoming drains on their scarce resources, have also become sources of conflicts in many homes as there are regarding equitable distribution of tariffs for power consumed by each tenant.

They are at a lost why ECG halted installation of the meters in Kpong-Katamaso, Chorkor, La, Ningo- Prampram, over similar concerns but refuse to do same for Teshie.

What is appalling them most is government’s apathetic attitude towards their concern, despite persistent agitation by a community seen as one of the poorest in the Greater Accra Region.

Should the government allow the problem to persist, they will vote massively against President John Mills and NDC Parliamentary Candidate, Mrs Benita Sena Okity-Dua, ex-Miss Ghana, since they are convinced that the party has betrayed their trust, by refusing to do something about their plight. President Mills ironically lives in that Constituency.

Some of the residents, who spoke to The Herald last weekend, said that over the years they had been loyal to the NDC with the belief that as a social democratic party, it understood the plight of the poor and needy, but they have been proven wrong.

They contend that the pre-paid meters which the ECG started installing last year, had worsen their financial status.

They are therefore, calling on President Mills through the Minister of Energy to do something about their situation before the worse happens to him, come the December 7, 2012 presidential election.

They told The Herald that during NPP’s eight years rule, the Kufuor government never made any attempt to have ECG install the new metering devices, despite the fact that the pre-paid implementation started in that era. For this reason, although they have never liked the NPP, they have come to realize that they will be better off under NPP than the NDC.

One angry resident, Emmanuel Adjei, told this paper that he wished that the elections were held this month so he could punish the government for disappointing him.

He said in a compound house where he lives with five other tenants, he has had to pay about three times what he used to pay before the pre-paid meter was fixed in the house. He was of the opinion that that the pre-paid meter was not ideal for compound houses and that the government must do something about the situation.

“My dear, I can’t continue like this and so my mind is made up. What is it that we have done to politicians to warrant this? We have everything in this country be it cocoa, timber, gold, and now oil but our leaders can’t do anything to ease our burdens, why? he asked rhetorically.

“It will pain me if the NDC loses the Teshie votes and subsequently the national one, because I love the party, but given the way things are going now, I think they have some time to correct the wrongs if really they want to stay in power”, one trader, John said.

In the case of Chorkor, it is reported that attempts by the ECG to install the pre-paid meters resulted in the destruction of their equipment. At Nungua which is next-door to Teshie, The Herald learnt that the pre-paid meters were given out freely and fixed upon a request.

According to a 46 year-old fisherman, who gave his name only as Martey, his decision to buy his own pre-paid meter has proved futile even after bribing an official of ECG to hasten the acquisition.

For months, he has been waiting for the meter while paying substantial amount of money to buy units for the pre-paid meter in the compound house. “This is a drain on the little sales I make from my fishing business”, he said. More to come!