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Dr. Kwabena Donkor, Minister for Power, has expressed disgust at the behaviour of some youths in Tamale for vandalising some equipment and premises of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDco) and the Grid Company(GRIDco).

He therefore threatened to relocate the headquarters of the VRA/NEDco from Tamale to Techiman if it happens again.

It was recently reported that some irate youth of Tamale took the law into their own hands and attacked the management of VRA/NEDco and GRIDco, and vandalised some essential equipment for poor power supply.

According to the Power Minister, he would have also called for a week power outage in the whole region if he had been in the country at the time to serve as a lesson and deterrent to others.

He said though the people of the north have the right to demand for quality improvement and reliability in power supply, it should not be done through violence which affects operations in the region.

Dr. Donkor expressed this at the opening of the NEDco sub-station at Nyankpala in the Northern Region. He noted that though government is making efforts to support VRA/NEDco to improve capacity and constant supply of power to attract investors into the region, others are also making efforts to drive away the investors.

“For the people of Tamale, I want to express my dismay at the vandalising of the equipment and premises of NEDco and GRIDCO. I will absolutely not regret relocating the head office of NEDco to Techiman if this vandalism continues,” he said.

He stressed that the era of vandalism, in Tamale particularly, must come to an end because it will be unacceptable for power supply to be disrupted. “Differences can always be resolved without resorting to vandalism,” he said.

The Minister pleaded with the traditional leaders to speak to the youth and make them to understand that as minister "I will not accept this attitude".

He called on the Regional Minister to endeavour through the Regional Security Council (REGESEC) to investigate and locate those responsible for the disruption and bring them to book to deter others, adding that the region has great potential to boost the economy of Ghana.

“However, the potential will remain only if we can establish an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.” He assured that the ministry will continue to support the VRA/NEDco and GRIDco to secure funds for their activities to boost operations.
Dr. Donkor urged consumers to ensure paying their bills for management to generate enough revenue to serve them well.