Residents of Mafi Zongo Electoral Area in the Central Tongu District have petitioned President Akuffo-Addo over what they say is poor electricity connectivity in the area.

In a petition signed by about 50 leaders of the 12 communities in the electoral area which has a population of 5000 people, the residents claimed the Self Help Project that extended electricity to the majority of the communities in 2005 was done poorly.

“Due to the poor execution of the project, there is also frequent low power outages which normally damage the appliances of the few households using electricity,” the five paged document said.

The petition was forwarded to the president’s office by the Assembly member Julius Karl Fieve and copied to the Senior Minister, Energy Minister, Volta Regional Minister, among others.

The residents are also asking the president to intervene and ensure four of the communities without electricity are connected to the national grid immediately.

Below is the full petition

Dear Mr. President,

PETITION BY CITIZENS OF MAFI ZONGO ELECTORAL AREA ON POOR ELECTRICITY CONNECTION IN THE AREA.

We the citizens of the Mafi Zongo Electoral Area in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region-Ghana in exercise of our sovereignty as a people under Article 1(1) of the 1992 Constitution, and in further exercise of our collective resolve to champion the development of our communities and Ghana as a whole, do humbly petition your Excellent Office as follows:

BACKGROUND

The Mafi Zongo Electoral Area consists of twelve (12) communities with a total population of over 5000 (according to the 2010 Housing and Population Census) and is located in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region, Ghana.

These Communities are Mafi Zongo, Mafi Amerika, Mafi Avukpo (Mexico), Mafi Manase, Mafi Adiekpe, Mafi Adiekpe Korfedeke, Mafi Mataheko, Mafi Akukorkpo, Mafi Seva, Mafi Agbadzikofe, Mafi Wudzrolo and Mafi Sitorlukorfe.

OUR CONCERNS

Six communities in the Electoral Area benefited from Governments of Ghana Self- Help Electrification Project (SHEP) in 2005. These Communities are Mafi Zongo, Mafi Amerika, Mafi Manase, Mafi Adiekpe, Mafi Seva and Mafi Agbadzikorfe.

The communities bought the low tension poles that were used in transmitting the electricity themselves, and provided free labour in the erection of both the high tension and low tension poles.

The communities provided free accommodation for the workers who came to site and provided all the necessary support to make the work a success.

The communities sank a lot of money into the project but by the end of work in 2010, it was clear that the contractor had done a very poor job. Majority of the low tension poles have only single phase instead of the three phases some areas deserve.

Some poles even though erected, are not connected. For example, the Mafi Zongo Community bought 93 low tension poles from IPALCO, Ho at the time but only 53 were connected leaving 40 to rot. Low tension poles were not extended to major parts of the various communities.

Majority of the houses in the communities do not still have electricity meters even though low tension poles were erected close to their homes and houses.

In response to the cry of the community members after some media platforms took up the issue, the Electricity Company Ghana provided about 200 meters to some households in 2016. These meters were not enough and currently, more people still live in darkness.

About 80% of the households in the communities still live in darkness even though they are on record to have been connected to the national electricity grid.

Due to the poor execution of the project, there is also frequent low power outages which normally damage the appliances of the few households using electricity.

UNCONNECTED COMMUNITIES

Some communities such as Mafi Avukorfe (Mexico), Mafi Akukorkpo, Mafi Adiekpe Korfedeke and Mafi Mataheko were not part of the Self-Help Project and therefore are not connected to the National Electricity Grid.

The people in those communities still live in total darkness, 60 years after Ghana’s Independence.

The education of children from those communities is thus badly affected as they are unable to do their home assignments neither are they able to learn at Home.

The electricity challenge is seriously affecting the lives of people in the Electoral Area and the general infrastructure and socio-economic development of the communities. All appeals to successive governments to rectify the situation has proven futile.

OUR APPEAL

We are therefore petitioning you, Mr. President, to come to the aid of the communities by directing the necessary Ministry or Agency to immediately do the following:

1. Correct all the electricity challenges in communities in the Mafi Zongo Electoral Area of the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region, Ghana.
2. Re-connect all the communities in the Electoral Area to the National Electricity Grid.
3. Connect the remaining communities which are still in total darkness to the National Grid

Having pledged to provide equal access to opportunities to ALL no matter the race, colour, creed, ethnicity, religion among others we count on your Excellent Office to come to our aid.

Thank you and God Bless our Homeland Ghana.