Some unidentified persons have cut down high-tension electricity poles at Adelakope to supply power to communities such as Akuse junction, Akorley and Aseseeso in the Okere district.
“Unidentified persons reportedly around 11:00 pm cut off a high tension Pole with a chainsaw at Adelakope on the Tema, Akosombo high way in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of Eastern region which connects power to communities such as Akuse junction, Akorley, and Aseseeso in the Okere district”. Opambour Gyaman Simon, a journalist with Rite FM, a local station in Somanya said.
Reports indicate that ECG staff and the military are heading to the scene to replace the affected pole(s).
The Electricity Company of Ghana, ECG, switched off feeders supplying power to Yilo and Manya Krobo municipalities on July 27, 2022, over attacks on its staff and tempering of its transformers by some unscrupulous residents resisting prepaid meter installations.
The power cut is having serious implications on the local economy, education, and health.
Public Relations Officer for Yilo Krobo Municipal Education Directorate Mr. Solomon Sackitey says secondary schools within Yilo Krobo will be forced without any option to be Closedown due to the cost of managing the schools by heads.
Speaking on Rite Morning Ride with Austin Ofori Addo, on Friday, the PRO said secondary schools within Yilo spend more than three hundred Ghana cedis (Ghc300) to power just their fridges for the preservation of perishables while the entire schools sleep in darkness.
He said the darkness in the school has also created insecurity on campus.
The Yilo Krobo District Education PRO, therefore, appealed to parents to provide touch lights to their wards particularly the final year Senior High School students to enable them to prepare well for their ongoing WASSCE exams.
He called on authorities to act as early as they can to restore power to the municipality
It would be recalled that the management of Yilo Krobo and Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Health Directorates in a joint statement issued on August 1, 2022, warned of a public health emergency if power is not restored to their districts immediately.
The health directorates said the power outage is seriously affecting clinical services in hospitals in the municipalities.
In Yilo Krobo, the power outage has caused the relocation of municipal Cold Chain Equipment, which includes vaccine fridges and freezers for ice packs.
The directorate is also spending GH¢500 a day to power a generator.
“Ongoing COVID-19 vaccination is also affected as a result vaccination team, district and sub-district supervisors are not able to charge their mobile phones and tablets, therefore not been able to enter data and monitoring/supervisory reports,” the statement said.
The Yilo Krobo District Hospital is barely three months old with very little capital and a host of challenges but forced to spend an unbudgeted amount of GH¢10,975 to power its diesel generator, according to the statement.
At the Somanya polyclinic, the directorates also said the only generator plant “which was donated by ECG to Somanya polyclinic has been taken back without any explanation by ECG, and therefore the facility has no alternative source of power.”
“The power outage has affected all aspects of clinical and public health care in the facility. The most affected areas are maternity units, laboratory services, in-patients, vaccine fridges, and administration.”
Atua and St. Martins Depores Hospitals spend Ghc3,000 and Ghc5,000 respectively every day on fuel to power generators.
The directorates say it cannot sustain the high cost of fueling generators at the various hospitals forewarning that “ we may not be able to sustain it to provide the quality health care services as expected.” therefore appealing to the government and management of ECG to restore electric power supply to all health facilities within the affected areas “in the shortest possible time to avert a possible public health emergency.”
Meanwhile, health workers including Doctors Anaesthetists, Nurses, Midwives, Laboratory scientists, and Pharmacists in Atua Government Hospital, St Martins Hospital, Yilo District hospital, Somanya polyclinic, health centers, and various CHPs Compounds have also served notice to withdraw night services over insecurity as a result of the power outage in Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo Municipalities.
The health workers argue that “the darkness we’re plunged into has given room to some criminals and hooligans to rob, harass, and ill-treat some of the health workers who lived in hard-to-reach areas. A Nurse got robbed in the dark after closing from an afternoon shift and walking home. Another got chased on her way home. To avoid these and promote our security, we might be forced to avoid the dark hours (4:00pm – 7:00am). This will mean there will be no night health services. We shall avail ourselves at the hospital’s premises from 8:00am to 4:00pm. We hope ECG, the Chiefs, political leaders, national security, and the various stakeholders in this impasse find an amicable solution to this problem as early as possible” Anaesthetist Miletso spokesperson for the health workers said.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
