By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Jan. 7, GNA – Residents within the Krobo district of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), have been advised to engage in responsible bush burning to protect installations and electric poles.
Mr Christopher Apawu, the District Manager for the Krobo District of ECG, pleaded with the public, especially farmers, to be extra careful when clearing their farmlands and burning in preparation for the next planting season.
Mr Apawu, who is also an engineer, gave the advice during a media engagement, noting that responsible bush burning could be achieved by farmers, ensuring that they clear out their boundaries of bushes to prevent the fire from spreading.
He said that when burning, they must stay close by to monitor and quickly quench the fire in case it travels to unintended places, stressing that they must have the contacts of the Ghana National Fire Service for easy communication when the need arose.
“People who cook on their farms, smokers who drop little pieces of lighted cigarette butts, and those who hunt for animals with fires and smoke, should all ensure that they have put out their fire completely when they are done to prevent possible fires,” he said.
The ECG Krobo District Manager added that residents should be each other’s keepers, emphasising that “if one happens to chance on another person preparing to burn their farm but they have not created boundaries that will prevent the fire from spreading to other farms, as well as boundaries around electricity poles and transformers, we should get close and offer that education to them to help protect properties and to prevent possible uncontrolled fires.”
He disclosed that during the 2023 to 2024 Harmattan season, the company lost some of its poles due to bush burning, adding, however, that they had not recorded any incident in the 2024 to 2025 season.
According to him, they were aware that some farmers would definitely be preparing to burn their farms for the new planting season, hence his call for all to be responsible with such bush burning to keep the installations safe.
Mr Apawu also cautioned the public against entering the company’s distribution network to change phases and engage in other connections on their own.
He said if people got themselves involved in such occurrences, it could get fatal, as such persons could easily get electrocuted, reminding them that when apprehended, they would be prosecuted.
GNA