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The military have clashed with residents of Nuaso Old Town in the Lower Manya Krobo municipality after accompanying the ECG to install prepaid metres for them.

The installation comes after the restoration of power to the residents over the weekend.

It is unclear what brought about the renewed clash Monday afternoon.

The continuous installation of the prepaid metres is part of the roadmap to resolve the impase in the area.

Some residents at Nuaso Old Town are alleging they have been flogged by some of the military personnel on duty with the ECG unprovoked.

“I was cooking when they came around, they asked me to get inside, I refused, then they begun beating me,” a woman, Theresa Lawer had said.

“We are lost for words to what is happening. I just returned from the bush. They just beat us mercilessly and took away my cutlass. I have reported to the police and taken medical forms, this is bad,” Christian Tetteh, a farmer complained.

The Assemblyman for Nuaso New Town Electoral Area, Samuel Torgbor, said consultations need be done before the exercise continuous.

“We were not aware the ECG and military would be coming to our community today. No one has spoken to us. They can’t just come and be doing things because they have power and military,” he fumed.

Nuaso, a hot spot community in the Krobo-ECG impasse is under the divisional area whose chiefs are against the installation of prepaid metres and the military involvement in the exercise.

The stakeholders meeting that agreed on the peace process headed by the National Security did not have a representative of the divisional chiefs who have fallen out with the paramount chief of the area, Nene Sackite.

Meanwhile, the Tema region PRO of the ECG, Sakyiwaa Mensah, has reacted to the incident in a statement.

She explained the team of ECG and military faced resistance at the Old Nuaso community that the team has withdrawn.

“In Nuaso Old Town, there was resistance. One woman threatened to pour hot oil on the ECG personnel and the Military as well,” she stated.

She added “a crowd started amassing around one ECG Team. The Military was able to receive a cutlass from one of those who were amassing around the ECG people. There have been reports of constant verbal abuses and attacks on the personnel doing the installation at Nuaso Old Town. The Team has withdrawn from Nuaso Old Town.”

She condemned the attack on the residents.

“ECG condemns these attacks and unfortunate situations. We keep calling for peace and calm so we can discharge our duties peacefully,” the statement had.

Meanwhile, the following action points were agreed on by the stakeholders including the National Security for implementation towards restoring electricity supply to the Lower Manya and Yilo Krobo Municipalities while addressing the volatile security situation in the area.

  1. 1. The conduct of integrity tests on all power transmission lines and electricity infrastructure in the area;
  • 2. The resumption of the installation of prepaid meters following the restoration of electricity supply to the areas;

3. The deployment of security personnel to the said areas to ensure law and order during the installation of pre-paid meters;

4. The provision of technical assistance by the 49 Field Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces to ECG technicians during the installation process

5. The arrest of persons whose conduct threatens to disrupt the exercise.

By Yvonne Neequaye|Eastern Reg.|Onuaonline.com