The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) is teaming up with National Security to evict all squatters residing under high-tension power lines across the country.
This initiative comes in the wake of financial strains caused by repair works on lines at Kwame Nkrumah Circle following a fire outbreak on Wednesday.
Despite existing laws designed to protect these areas from encroachment, enforcement has been a persistent challenge.
Speaking on Joy FM’s midday news, Head of Corporate Affairs, Dzifa Bampoh, stated that the nationwide exercise aims to clear all unauthorized individuals operating in and around the high-tension lines, while ensuring the safety and integrity of the power infrastructure.
She added that “in fact nobody should be living under a transmission line, so this is not just about this ECOMOG area; there are slum communities at Fiesta Royale; there’s Adjiringanor, Ashiaman. I mean, it’s not just even in Accra; we have Kumasi; we have the Western Region.
“We have a lot of galamsey activities that impact even the structure of these towers and because we do have legislation that backs it, it makes it an offense for anyone, persons, or institutions to be on these lines.”
Mrs. Bampoh said it was also reassuring that the Greater Accra Regional Minister is committed to preventing unauthorized human settlements near GRIDCo facilities.
She emphasised that despite the efforts made by GRIDCo to enforce these regulations, the company has faced resistance from various quarters, making it difficult to fully implement the necessary measures.
“But it does not end with this settlement. GRIDCo needs significant support to execute a campaign that clears people from under the transmission lines”.
Mrs Bampoh explained that ‘right-of-way’ challenges are among the most difficult aspects of GRIDCo’s operations, given the company’s responsibility for some 6,700 kilometres of transmission lines across the country.
“These are very high kilovolts of transmission lines that, God forbid, if were to touch anyone, that person will turn to ashes.
“So, we will continue to do what we can,” she noted.
Source: Myjoyonline