Two prepaid meters installed on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in the home of honourable Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region disappeared Tuesday night from his residence without a trace.
The installation of the meters in the house of the lawmaker sparked controversy among his constituents with some supporters registering their displeasure over the development.
This comes in the wake of the stand-off between the ECG and its Krobo customers over the installation of the meters in the area.
The MP on Sunday, July 24, 2022, slammed personnel of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for disrespecting his office by fixing the meters in his house without notifying him.
Personnel of the Company Saturday afternoon fixed the meter in the house of the lawmaker as part of the ongoing prepaid metering system in the Krobo area.
He argued that though he wouldn’t have resisted the exercise, notifying him of their coming would have fostered trust among all sides.
The disappearance of the meter, therefore, comes as a little surprise to many.
The MP when reached for his response to the development, said his first reaction upon receiving the news was to direct members of his household to report the issue to the ECG and the police.
“I sent my brother to the ECG office to go and report and then go to the police station to go and report,” said the legislator.
According to the NDC MP, he suspects certain persons whom he described as
political saboteurs from the governing NPP of being behind the thefts.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my saboteurs and those who’re inciting people against me because of the installation can be behind this,” he said.
Asked if this could be the work of some of his supporters who were outraged over the installation of the meters in his house, the lawmaker objected strongly:
“No, I told them I’m a law-abiding citizen and I don’t believe in that, once it’s been installed, I’ve loaded it with credit.”
The “thieves” after removing the meters connected the power to Mr. Okletey Terlabi’s house without a meter which the ECG has described as an illegal connection.
This has left the company to charge him for illegal connections.
A “notice of illegal power connection” served the lawmaker and cited by GhanaWeb cited the MP for “tampering or interfering with our meter” and “unauthorized service connection” in contravention of LI 1651 (1999) and LI 1702 (2002).
The MP said, “I’ve been charged with illegal connection,” adding that he’s a law-abiding citizen and ready to assist the service provider to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his meters.
Mr. Albert Terlabi, a younger brother to the Member of Parliament who resides in the house with his family said his attention was drawn to the development Wednesday morning.
“My daughter drew my attention in the morning to the meter board without the meter and when I drew closer I realised that the two meters had been removed. So I quickly called my brother (MP) and he directed me to report to the ECG,” he said.
According to him soon after leaving the ECG office, he had reports that a combined team of ECG and military personnel were at the MP’s residence to disconnect his power together with others on his service line leaving the whole area without power.
“They disconnected the whole community and I don’t know why because I came to report to you,” he lamented.
Ghanaweb.com
