Two persons have been charged and put before a Circuit Court in Accra for selling unauthorized Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) metres to unsuspecting customers of the power distributor.
The two, Charles Kotei, a 42-year-old mason and Frank Ofori, a 43-year-old carpenter both resident in Accra, are before the court on two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and intentionally interfering or knowingly allowing interference with the power supplier’s distribution system.
They both pleaded not guilty to the two charges and were admitted to a bail of GH₵20,000 each with two sureties each by the court presided over by His Honour Bright Samuel Acquah, to reappear on December 8, 2023.
The prosecution’s fact presented by Paul Assibi Abariga, General Manager of ECG Prosecutions indicate that the activities of the to were detected during a monitoring exercise by officials of ECG.
It states that Ankudey Rocky and Affordofe Belinda Kafui, both technicians at ECG were on duty of inspecting ECG metres at Adenta New site and its environs when they noticed that some of the installed metres were unauthorized ones.
The facts said their investigations revealed that all the unauthorised meters were supplied by Frank Ofori.
It said the two officials of ECG went to Frank Ofori and as posed as national service persons in need of a new metre for their rented apartment.
The accused promised the two he could get them the metre at a cost of GH₵1,200 and on September 28 September 2023, the two ECG officials together with police officers went to the accused person’s house with intent to purchase the metre.
Frank Ofori brought out a metre with serial number 191499941 labelled ‘property of Ministry of Energy’ to sell to them and he was arrested by the police officers.
He told the police in his investigation caution statement that Charles Kotei provided with 40 such metres between the month of November and December 2022, to sell for him and he had since sold all except one.
This led to the arrest of Charles Kotei who also told the police that he got the metres from Foli Atigah, a resident of Nsawam in the East Region but he could not lead the police to the said individual for his arrest.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak