Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi
The Concern Youth of Kroboland in the Lower Manya Municipal of the Eastern Region have warned the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, to stop sponsoring the United Krobo Foundation to incite the Krobos against Power Distribution Services (PDS).
They have also warned him not to make Krobos to refuse to pay electricity bill to the PDS.
According to them, the MP has been the major financier of the United Krobo Foundation led by one Teye Kwao Kasim popularly known as Alhaji.
The Foundation it said is beleieved to be behind the Krobos disregarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PDS and advocacy groups, on the roadmap to solve the issue permanently.
Background
The residents were given an electric meter through SHEP project through the Ministry of Power from 2014 to 2016 without the knowledge of ECG now PDS.
In 2017 the company became aware of the situation and therefore called for a dialogue.
All parties including the leadership of the youth groups signed MoU to pay in a relaxed payment scheduled but they have refused to pay and want the accumulated debt canceled because the United Krobo Foundation collected 30 cedis each from some of them to fight their course for them.
The United Krobo Foundation in a series of meeting claimed their ancestors signed MOU with the VRA because they gave them the land to built the dam so they have a historical right to enjoy free electricity supply from the Volta River Authority, hence inciting the residents not to pay the bill.
Since last week, there has been violent clashes between Police and the residents who blocked the main road in the town to prevent PDS officers who were being escorted by police personnel, to switch off the main transformer that supplies power to the town.
One Person was shot dead in the process whereas 35 suspects were arrested in Wednesday’s bloody riot.
MP
The area MP in reactions on some media networks noted that the PDS has ignored his plea not to disconnect the power supply to the people after several interventions to resolve the overbilling issue.
Meanwhile, the residents currently owe the PDS over GH84 million from 2014 to 2016.
Concerned Youth Reactions
In a Press statement issued and signed by the Concern Youth of Kroboland Convenor, Daniel Sackitey, noted that ‘’ their MP did nothing to help solve the issues of anomalies on the electricity bills when these issues were raised in the year 2014 till date’’.
They explained that his previous commentaries and posture in the media have come as a surprise to them since he has always gone into hibernation when citizens raised that issue, therefore it’s surprising that all of a sudden he has metamorphosed from that laissez-faire” leadership style to the kind he is portraying lately when this issue heightened again.
They warned him to stop shifting leadership blame to others whiles he has the opportunity as the MP to file questions in parliament or engage the relevant bodies to demand answers since 2014.
They also warned him to stop using the opportunity given to him by the electorates, to be running down good initiatives in Manya Krobo merely to realize his narrow, parochial and partisan interest.
They further urge him to emulate the sincerity and the accuracy put out by his colleague MP for Yilo Krobo, Magnus Kofi Amoatey with regards to these electricity bill issues in the Krobo areas.
They, however, call on all youth leaders in Kroboland to calm down their followers, unite and reengage PDS and other stakeholders to resurrect the MoU signed earlier in 2018 and implement the agreed roadmap to ensure peace and stability of the Kroboland.
From Daniel Bampoe