By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, August 01, GNA – The Senior Staff Association (SSA) of the Volta River Authority (VRA)/Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), Tamale, has withdrawn all services in the Tamale Metropolis and its environs following an attack on some of its staff by some irate youth.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held by staff of the Northern Area in Tamale on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and documented in a resolution jointly signed by Mr William Asare, Chairman of SSA-NEDCO, and Mr Fuseini Adjei, VRA Divisional Union Chairman.
The resolution, sighted by the Ghana News Agency, said the staff were left traumatized after some youth in Tamale on July 30, 2025, violently attacked VRA/NEDCO personnel, who were driving official vehicles.
The statement explained that the staff were stopped, pulled out of their vehicles, and severely beaten with clubs and sticks, with some narrowly escaping death.
It said the company’s vehicles were subsequently seized and taken to the Gulkpe-Naa Palace.
It said: “The life of VRA/NEDCO Staff and properties of the company have become the target of the youth, who carried out this barbaric act.”
The leadership of the SSA-NEDCO in the resolution, expressed concern that those assaults were not isolated incidences but part of a worrying trend of violent attacks against utility staff in the region.
It cited several past incidents, including the assault on staff at Lamkara, a suburb of Tamale, in 2016 while in the company of Police personnel to invite customers, who had reconnected themselves after being disconnected for illegal connection.
It mentioned another attack, which occurred in 2017 at Dohinayili where staff were assaulted and company vehicle tyres deflated, again while in the company of Police personnel.
“In 2015, some youth attacked and vandalized the VRA/NEDCO office in Tamale while in 2019, staff were assaulted at Vittin while on official assignment to disconnect illegally installed streetlights by a local Assembly member.”
The resolution said “These persistent attacks have left staff in Tamale and surrounding areas living in fear. We are at a loss as to why innocent staff returning from legitimate duties were beaten to a pulp and had their vehicles seized.”
The resolution demanded that NEDCO management in collaboration with law enforcement agencies ensure that the perpetrators of the assault were identified and brought to justice.
It also called for an explanation on why the staff were assaulted, beaten severely, and nearly killed.
It demanded a firm commitment and assurance from all relevant stakeholders regarding the safety and protection of VRA/NEDCO staff and properties.
It further called for the immediate retrieval of the seized vehicles parked at the Gulkpe-Naa Palace.
The Union said services would remain suspended until the demands were met and staff safety was assured.
GNA
Edited by Eric K. Amoh/Lydia Kukua Asamoah