400 communities in UWR to get power before end of December 2012

Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei, Minister of Energy has assured the people of the Upper West Region that work on the connection of 400 communities in the region under the Rural Electrification Project to the national grid will be completed by the end of December 2012.

The Energy Minister gave the assurance on Tuesday when he commissioned two completed electricity projects for Takpo and Siriyiri communities in the Nadowli and Wa West Districts.

He said the 90 million United States dollars project was one of the three projects promised by His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills to the people of the three Northern Regions.

“It is aimed at breaching the yawning gap between the average accessibility rate of about 35 per cent and that of the national average of about 72 per cent, the Energy Minister stated.

Dr. Oteng-Adjei announced that 127 communities in four districts out of the 400 communities had been completed so far and were awaiting customer service, while an additional 53 communities in the Lawra and Jirapa districts would be completed by the end of July this year.

He said government had again connected electricity to 70 communities under the Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP), while an additional 73 would be completed by the end of the year.

The Energy Minister stated that the connection and meter fee for the project was 58 Ghana pesewas and appealed to the people to report anybody who flouted this directive to the Energy Ministry or the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for the law to take its course.

Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, the Upper West Regional Minister said the NDC believed in treating all parts of the country equally.

That was why Former President Rawlings in his regime extended electricity to the three Northern Regions even when some people then believed that electricity could not have been extended to the Brong Ahafo Region.

He said when the NDC left power in 2000, much was not done on rural electrification until the Mills administration came to ensure that electricity got to every remote community in every part of the country.

He urged the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) to ensure that all basic schools in their districts were connected to the grid to help improve on academic performance of the pupils.

Alhaji Sulemana advised the people to use the electricity wisely and pay off their bills to enable Volta River Authority (VRA) to continue to supply them with sustainable power.

He appealed to them to have faith in a government that did not discriminate in the sharing of the national cake.

Mr. Abu Kansangbata, and Mr. Adamu Dasaana, District Chief Executives of Nadowli and Wa West respectively, expressed their gratitude on behalf of their constituents to the President and the Energy Minister for giving their districts their share of the national cake.

They both pleaded with the remaining communities in their districts to be patient as the contractors were still working around the clock to get them hooked to the grid as soon as possible.**