PDS & Kroboland Saga – What the media has failed to report on the KROBO vrs ECG/PDS

PDS and Kroboland has in the past two weeks been engaged in a tussle over bills. Whilst PDS maintains the stand that Krobo’s need to pay for electricity, Krobo’s on the other hand are reluctant because they claim, theres been a mass case of over billing in the past. Below is an extract of what Krobo’s have based their stance on.

1. At a point in time on Kroboland (Manya & Yilo) there was an issue of over billing by ECG probably emanating from a software error. Bills went up as high as 700% for many people. But clients did not pay the huge bills but only continued paying what they usually paid leaving behind huge arrears.
2. ECG instead of accepting the anomaly, rejected this basic fact and threatened to disconnect clients from the grid if they refuse to pay. They also said they will replace the old meters with prepaid and in addition load the debts unto it.
3. Kloma Gbi & Kloma Hengme both are Advocacy and Heritage groups for Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo respectively started using dialogue by calling for meetings for all stakeholders including Traditional leaders, Politicians and ECG but an agreement was never reached. Probably ECG didn’t want to admit their error. These Advocacy group of intellectuals tried all gemtleman agreements but ECG was adamant.
4. ECG moves into town(Somanya in Yilo Krobo) with a mass disconnection exercise which the people of Somanya in the Yilo Krobo opposed leading to a demonstration and subsequent clash resulting in damage of ECG district office and police vehicles.
5. There comes the advent of a group called KROBO YOUTH FOUNDATION. They started registering people as part of their association. They claim among other things that Kroboland should not even pay light and water bills because Krobo land is home to two Hydro Dams. Akosombo and Kpong together with the largest water treatment plant in Ghana. They claim VRA and GWCL signed an agreement with their chiefs during the construction of the Dam and water works respectively. Some people have bought into this assertion and they continue to meet and have sued ECG and VRA.
6. After the clash, ECG stopped sharing bills in Manya & Yilo Krobo for 18 months. This further escalated the debts until they resumed sharing bills somewhere February 2018. This time round the bills made sense. Everybody agrees the current Bills are accurate. But the outstanding bills are still there. So Some people are paying the current bills
7. Healthy Community Foundation, an NGO comes in to conduct a research, collates ECG bills of clients in KROBO and establishes that indeed there was overbilling at point in time. It petitions the presidency and all stakeholders of its findings and suggested solutions. But meeting is never held.
8. Then Early May,2019, PDS now new owners of ECG comes to town to start disconnecting people for owing bills including the overbilling. This time around they are doing it in Manya Krobo and it has also resulted in clashes leading to the death of a teenager .
9. There are now two groups of people in Krobo. Those who want recalculation of the overbilling so they will pay and those who stand with the UNITED KROBO FOUNDATION that they won’t pay bills and won’t allow disconnection.
10. But both groups don’t want to be disconnected unless the issue is solved. So PDS must go back to the drawing table and find lasting solution to this simple problem.