A former Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had alleged that the said relocation was without recourse to Parliament hence making it illegal.

[contextly_sidebar id=”2rPW3JGrQOZFObEVGI9ORCByj2VXxJC4″]Speaking in an interview with Citi News, the former deputy Education Minister said, “the program which Parliament had already approved was that, there will be two main campuses, the Somanya campus and the Donkorkrom campus in the Affram Plains area. The information I have, which is unimpeachable, credible, is that, this government has changed the second campus from Donkorkrom in Afram Plains to Bunso in Kyebi, and that is why they did not want to answer the question. The facility that this house approved in 2016 has to do with funding for two campuses, there is reasonable proximity.”

He said although he tried to seek clarification from the Education Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh on the matter, the former did not give details about the development, noting that “they know what they have done, for which reason they are hiding from the people of this country.”

The Ministry of Education in response described such claims as false.

However, speaking to Citi News, the Eastern Regional Communications Officer of the NDC, Jamal Konneh, said they will resort to demonstrations and a possible legal action to get government to back down on such a decision.

“When you pick the constitution, every citizen has the right to defend his case if his right is being violated or an individual is trying to cheat on him or her. If a government is trying to cheat, we have the right to demonstrate, we will do that and I know the sitting President believes and understands demonstration because he has led several demonstrations before and demonstration is a language that he understands. Apart from that, we can battle this case in the law court which we will not relent on at all if all avenues are used without us achieving our goal” Mr. Konneh said.

The Education Minister had told Parliament that the construction of the proposed Somanya Campus of the University would begin next month, but did not give details about the construction of the second campus.

The construction of the University was part of the Mahama administration’s vision to ensure each region in the country had a public university.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll resist relocation of Donkorkrom Eastern uni. campus – NDC appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The assumption of work by the workers of ECG today [Thursday] comes after residents of Somanya besieged the premises of the Somanya ECG office, attacked and vandalized property belonging to the company on May 26, 2017, following claims the company was over billing them.

In a joint communique issued by the management of ECG and the Yilo traditional Council, and read by the member of Parliament for the Yilo Krobo Constituency, Magnus Kofi Amoatey, at the Yilo Krobo District Assembly, both parties jointly pledged and promised to work together in an atmosphere of peace and mutual trust to ensure the success of ECG’s business and the satisfaction of customers in the Krobo district of ECG.

The Acting Konor of Yilo Traditional Area, Osayem Tetteh Odonkor Tuumey I advised residents of Somanya to conserve electricity and also pleaded with the management of ECG to amend the over billing charges to ensure continues peace, he said “we should all learn how to conserve electricity by switching off all electrical gadgets when they are not in use. Management of ecg should also try and solve all the discrepancies with the bills for residents to also be happy.”

The Managing Director of ECG, Ing. Samuel Boakye-Appiah however assured residents of quality service from his outfit, he said “I am happy to say that my staff are back working again in a peaceful environment, I want to express appreciation to the Yilo and Manya Traditional leaders, the Municipal Assembly, the security agencies here and the entire media fraternity for their immense contribution and reportage throughout. I assure the people of Somanya and other catchment areas of full and quality service, our doors are always open to them, I advice that they use our complaints centre which has been established to report every problem they are faced with.”

The Communique

In the supreme interest of Peace and development of the Yilo Krobo Area and in the accordance with the roadmap the Yilo Krobo Traditional council represented by the Acting Kronor- Osayem Tetteh Odonkor Tuumeh I and Ing. Samuel Boakye – Appiah, acting managing director of ECG make the following declarations on behalf of the people of Somanya and workers of ECG respectively;

1. The Yilo Krobo Traditional council vehemently condemned the unwarranted attack on The Somanya ECG office leading to destruction of property. We do sincerely regret this incident of 26th May, 2017.
2. We the youth of Somanya wish to unconditionally apologise to the management and staff of ECG for the unfortunate attack on The office of ECG on Friday, 26th May,2017 which led to serious damages to the company’s property. We promise that such an unfortunate event will never occur again.
3. We the chiefs and people of Somanya call on the Ghana police service and other security agencies to ensure the safety and security of all workers of ECG in the Yilo Krobo District and their registered contractors and agents.
4. We the management and staff of ECG, especially the workers in Krobo District, unreservedly accept the apology by the youth and assure our valued customers as follows;ECG has put in place elaborated complaints resolution procedures and structures which are open and available to all customers who have any complaints or anomalies.The hierarchical steps that should be taken when a customer has a complaint are:Report to the customer relations officers in the district office, in the event that a customer is not satisfied he may proceed to:-Report to the District Manager in Somanya

   -Report to the Regional General Manager in Tema

   -Report to the Head Office Directors in Accra

   -Report to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)

The ECG Will embark on series of public and customer education programmes in collaboration with the chiefs, Municipal Assembly and Opinion leaders.

In conclusion, we jointly pledge our commitment to this communique and promise to work together in an atmosphere of peace and mutual trust to ensure the success of ECG’s business and the satisfaction of customers in the Krobo district of ECG.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonine.com/Ghana

The post ECG, Somanya residents smoke peace pipe appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The suspects, Adamptey Jones Dendenden, Teye Israel, Michael Adjei Nortey, Theophilus Narh, Kosivi Amana, Wisdom Tetteh, Jerry George Klutse, Sackey Wisdom Larweh, Senyo George, Felix Tawaih, Tetteh Emmanuel and Bacha Emmanuel, were escorted to the court on Tuesday by about 40 police personnel from the national SWAT and RDF Unit.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tZReyrYwChH2bvx5iMT5KFOAxHedJYNo”]They were charged with causing unlawful damage, conspiracy to riot, rioting with weapons, unlawful assembling and causing unlawful damages to properties.

The court presided over by Ms. Mercy Adei Kotei had on two occasions turned down a bail plea for the accused persons when their lawyer, Simon Animley, requested for bail on grounds that the suspects would not interfere with police investigations.

Background

Hundreds of angry youth in May 2017, besieged the Somanya Police station, vandalized properties, set fire to a police car, also freed four suspected criminals in police custody.

Their action saw many officers around the station, fleeing for their lives.

Their action was sparked by the arrest of a resident who was accused of masterminding an earlier violent demonstration by residents against the ECG over high bills.

14 suspects were later arrested in connection with the attack.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Somanya ECG, police attackers granted bail appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Eastern Regional Police PRO, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh who confirmed the development to Citi News said all the 14 suspects are in police custody at Koforidua assisting in investigations.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ex1gtWlpd6cjNYPRlUTLDEyPhy93ZoX0″]“We have arrested 14 people and all of them are in our custody in Koforidua. The first person was arrested in the morning. It was based on his arrest that the people mobilzed and went to vandalize the police station,” he said.

Hundreds of angry youth on Monday evening besieged the Somanya Police station, vandalized property, set fire to a police car, also freed four suspected criminals in police custody.

Their action saw many officers around the station, fleeing for their lives.

Their action was sparked by the arrest of a resident who is accused of masterminding an earlier violent demonstration of residents against the Electricity Company of Ghana over high bills.

ASP Ebenzer Tetteh said, the suspects would be charged with offences including rioting, causing damages, aiding the escape of prisoners from lawful custody, and causing unlawful harm.”

Meanwhile, the Police Administration has assured the public that calm has been restored at Somanya after the Monday evening incident.

In a statement copied to citifmonline.com, the Police said it has put in place adequate security measures to forestall further breach of the peace in the area.

“The Administration has deployed scores of police officers including contingents of action units of the Formed Police Unit, SWAT and Counter Terrorism units to Somanya to maintain law and order,” the statement said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 14 arrested over Somanya Police station vandalism appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The agitated residents torched a police vehicle during the clash. The Eastern Regional Police Command has since dispatched a team reinforce security in the area, to ensure law and order.

The Police in the Eastern Region were on the lookout for one Emmanuel Jamartey, who is reported to have instigated the said violent demonstration in Somanya.

The Police say Mr. Jamartey acted unlawfully rallying the demonstrators to embark on an exercise that led to the destruction of property.

The demonstration saw hundreds of angry residents in the town take over the offices of the ECG, as some vandalised parts of the building in protest over what they described as outrageous electricity bills.

The demonstration also saw a reporter with Citi FM’s partner station, Rite FM, allegedly assaulted by some protesters when he was covering the protest.

The demonstrators proceeded to march on Rite FM’s premises after the station condemned their actions.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Angry Somanya residents set police car on fire appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Hundreds of angry residents in the town took over the offices of the Electricity Company of Ghana and vandalised parts of the building, after demonstrating over what they describe as outrageous electricity bills.

[contextly_sidebar id=”2L9ETvhLVgDhTDoAP8zhDc2WZg7xCrjF”]One of the affected residents said he was recently billed GH¢45,000 from the GH¢100 he last paid for his domestic power consumption.

The Police say Mr. Jamartey acted unlawfully rallying the demonstrated to embark on the demonstration that ended in the destruction of property.

According to the Eastern Regional PRO of the Ghana Police Service, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, is a currently a suspect and his arrest will help the police carry out proper investigation into the matter.

“So a manhunt is on. Following the incident, some personnel were deployed from the Regional police headquarters and we are looking for the prime suspect, ringleader, Ebenezer Jamartey. He was the brain behind the demonstration that turned riotous. It was a spontaneous action by the group we need to get this person arrested. We can get to the bottom of this matter. Somebody ought to be punished,” he said.

ASP Ebenezer Tetteh also called on the public to volunteer information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect.

Meanwhile, the Electricity Company of Ghana has denied the responsibility of the abnormal electricity bill issued to residents in the area.

The Public Relations Officer of Tema area of ECG under whose jurisdiction Somanya falls, Theresa Osabutey told ECG that “What we know is that they were being billed by VRA, and the meters they were using, at a point, they [VRA] came around to replace the meters and when they replaced the meters the customers started complaining that they are paying more than they used to pay,” she said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police hunt for Somanya ECG demo leader appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“It took the intervention of the police to ensure that we the journalists at Rite FM were safe,” a reporter with the station, Austin Ofori Addo, said on Eyewitness News.

The protesters had earlier allegedly assaulted one of the Rite FM reporters during the demonstration against the ECG and this prompted some criticism from the radio station, according to Mr. Addo.

“We condemned that situation and I think they were not happy about that. So we were here when we saw them in their numbers coming to the studio so we called the police and now I can say we are partially safe.”

The Rite FM reporter was allegedly assaulted because the protestors were not happy with him taking pictures and video of their actions, according to Mr. Addo.

The hundreds of the angry residents of Somanya in the Eastern Region, besieged the offices of the ECG to demonstrate over what they described as over-billing.

The residents had poured out onto the street and blocked major roads in the town to demonstrate their anger over the development.

Citi News gathered that demonstration was triggered after some ECG staff went round to disconnect some customers for non-payment of their bills.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Somanya residents attack local radio station after ECG protest appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The residents had poured out onto the street and blocked major roads in the town to demonstrate their anger over the development.

Citi News gathered that demonstration was triggered on Friday morning after some ECG staff came round to disconnect some customers for non-payment of their bills.

Philip Tetteh Padi the president of Kloma Gbi, a pressure group that operates in the community told Citi News that the ECG has been adamant in addressing the problem in spite of numerous complaints.

“The whole Manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo communities have rallied round the ECG office in Somanya because of the huge light bills that are being given to the community. We complain several times and nothing seem to be happening,” he said.

Mr. Padi said he found it ridiculous he had been billed GHs45,000.00 by the ECG for power consumed in his home when he was previously billed GHs100.

He noted that although the demonstration was peaceful, the ECG has locked its gate and deployed security personnel to man the gate and prevent demonstrators from coming in.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of Tema area of ECG under whose jurisdiction Somanya falls, Theresah Osabutey says that the ECG has no hand on the challenge the residents are facing but rather the VRA will be the appropriate body company to address it.

“What we know is that they were being billed by VRA, and the meters they were using, at a point, they [VRA] came around to replace the meters and when they replaced the meters the customers started complaining that they are paying more than they used to pay,” she said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Somanya residents demonstrate against ‘killer ECG bills’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Mahama’s second term bid was truncated by the New Patriotic Party’s Nana Akufo-Addo who will be sworn into office on January 7, 2017.

The President was in the area to the cut sod for the construction of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development also called the Eastern University.

The Eastern University, which was one of President Mahama’s key promises to the people of the region during the 2012 electioneering period, will be cited at Somanya with a satellite Campus at Donkorkrom, all in the Eastern Region.

The University will provide higher education in developments and environment that will lead to the award of honorary Degrees, Diploma and certificates.

While speaking at the sod cutting ceremony, President Mahama called on the incoming New Patriotic Party administration to see to the completion of the project.

“The building of a campus for the University of Environment and Sustainable Development which is popularly called the Eastern University, I believe is a milestone worth celebrating. The chiefs can also be assured that funding for the Eastern University has been secured and has been approved by Parliament.”

“I urge them (NPP) to continue to support the new government to ensure the full realization of the vision to provide the Eastern Region with a public university. It will have a modern telecommunications and ICT service system…and all the basic equipment required by an institution of higher learning.”

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

Photo credit: Flagstaff House

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