The East Ada District Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has cleared an unprofessional electricity connection from a house to a privately-owned poultry farm at Hwakpo in the West Ada District.
The disconnection of power to the poultry farm follows an earlier telephone call an indigene of the area, Richard Ackwerh said he had made the ECG on February 9, this year, about his suspicion of some illegalities in the connection.
But failing to act on the said information to the ECG by Richard, who is currently standing trial at the Sege District Court for causing damage to the cables of the owner of the poultry farmer, a journalist with one of the private media houses also called the Tema Regional office of ECG to inform them of the suspicious illegality.
When Awake News visited Hwakpo on Monday on a follow-up, it observed that the 2mm substandard cables for the connection of electricity from house number HW1/004 had been removed.
Again, the feeble bamboo sticks on which the cables lay loosely from the source to the poultry farm had been uprooted.
Few persons told this portal that some personnel from the district’s ECG went to the site to remove the cables and instructed the owner of the poultry farm to uproot all the bamboo sticks.
Why Richard Ackwerh is in the dock
The West Ada District Police, Sege, has hauled Richard Ackwerh to the district’s court for tearing power cables belonging to a poultry farmer at Hwakpo.
Appearing before His Lordship Narh Awah of the West Ada District Court, Richard admitted damaging the cables of David Nartey, the complainant, however, explained that the complainant illegally tapped the power from his residence.
“And realising the adverse consequences of such an illegal connection to my parents’ house where my old lady resides and the revenue loss to the state, I cut the supply from our main meter and destroyed the cables,” Richard told the court.
The incident happened on February 13, this year.
According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Francis Acquaye, the damaged cables cost GHc540.
He told the court that the complainant led the police to the site where the damaged cables were collected and kept as exhibits and later arrested the accused on July 15, 2021.
However, after listening to the defence of Richard Ackwerh, the court granted him a self-cognisance bail.
Accused person’s family anger
The family of the accused have expressed huge shock at the ECG for not taking legal action against the complainant after their son had informed them of the alleged illegal connection he had detected in the house.
What stunned them the more was ECG going to the site to detect the substandard cable connecting electricity from house number HW1/004 to the poultry farm at about 500 meters away but failing to take action. The substandard cables hanged on weak bamboo sticks from the power source to the poultry farm.
“Richard and a family member called the ECG on the telephone before his prosecution to draw their attention to the power connection. Indeed, the ECG came to the site to disconnect the supply to the poultry farm. And just when we thought the ECG would take action against the one who is supposed to have done wrong, our son was rather arrested and charged for causing damage,” Gideon Ackwerh, a family member, explained.
By: Umar Sheriff Musah
