United Krobo Foundation to re-enact demo against PDS if unexplained power outages continue

The United Krobo Foundation, a local pressure group, has warned that the group will re-enact Wednesday’s demonstration against power suppliers, Power Distribution Services (PDS) if the unexplained power cuts to consumers in the area continue.

The threats come in the wake of Wednesday night’s demonstration which led to the shooting and injuring of two protesters by police.

In a spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled protests on Wednesday night, scores of disgruntled cutlass wielding youth poured onto the principal streets of Kroboland to protest what they called targeted power outages against consumers of Kroboland.

The irate youth, clad in war regalia and chanting war songs marched through the streets of Nuaso, Agomanya, Odumase through to Somanya to seek redress from officials on reasons for the unannounced outages.

An unidentified information van drove through the principal streets of the town, calling on residents to step out of their homes and demonstrate against the actions which they said were collapsing businesses and making domestic conditions unbearable.

“Our checks indicate that all surrounding towns and communities have uninterrupted power supply which is a clear indication that consumers in Kroboland are being intentionally targeted for deliberate power cuts,” the announcement said.

The group mounted sporadic road blocks along the main Somanya – Kpong highway and burnt tyres to express their anger.

Riot control police from Akuse, Akosombo and Akropong Police Command clashed with protesters and mounted a road block close to the Somanya roundabout to prevent the crowd from marching to the local PDS office at Somanya.

In 2017, a dispute between residents and workers of ECG now PDS turned bloody when angry residents in Somanya descended on the office of then ECG for overbilling
Since the incident, pressure groups have been holding press conferences and sent petitions to the President and VRA on their plan to revolt against payment of electricity bills claiming VRA had an agreement with their ancestors to provide free power for them having dispossessed them of their lands for the construction of the Akosombo Dam.

The United Krobo Foundation made up of leaders of the various Krobo groups is championing the cause calling on the VRA to honour its MOU with the Krobo people.
According to them, VRA “owes the Krobos in its catchment area free supply of electricity after fifty years of operation on the land”.

But a communication member of the group, who disassociates the United Krobo Foundation from Wednesday’s demonstration, however backed the actions of the youth, warning that the group will on the 11th of April, 2019 embark on a massive demonstration, to register its displeasure with the actions of the PDS.