Self-Help Electrification Project Suspended

Ve-Golokuati (Volta Region), 8 Oct., Self-help electrification projects in about 50 communities in the Hohoe South constituency and Kpedze area have been suspended because 50 per cent of the imported wooden poles for their electrification projects have been found to be unsuitable. This was contained in a preliminary report presented by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and discussed at an emergency meeting convened by Mr. Kosi Kedem Member of Parliament for the constituency at Golokuati today. In attendance were representatives of 33 affected communities, officials of ECG and Transelectrical, the contractors working on the projects. The projects were being funded by the Swedish International Development Agency. According to the report, the poles which have already been erected have been found not well-treated as required. Mr. Kedem therefore called on the Ministry of Mines and Energy to bring both the suppliers of the poles and the ECG to book for their negligence. He said the two parties have played on the ignorance of the affected communities and should be made to bear the cost of replacement immediately to enable the projects to continue as planned. Mr. Patrice Afenyo, of the Contracts Department of the ECG advised rural communities undertaking electrification projects to seek technical advice when moulding concrete poles which are now found to be cheaper than the imported wooden poles.