The negligence on the part of Electricity Company Ghana (ECG) officials of Awoshie in Accra, to rectify one of their electricity poles, which was zapping and electrocuting unsuspecting residents in Nyamekye, has led the untimely death of a seven-year-old girl in the area.
The death of little Precious Priscilla Oduro Baafi – who would have turned seven years next month – happened on the evening of Saturday, June 27, 2010 around 10:30 p.m.
The little girl’s death the next day was received with shock by residents as many of them put the blame squarely on the ECG.
The residents contended that ECG officials were aware of the problem and knew the danger that electricity pole posed to the area, but did nothing to rectify it.
They stressed that they had made several complaints to the ECG officials but all their efforts in that regard had come to naught as they claimed ECG officials had adamantly refused to address the problem.
According to the residents, the Saturday incident was the third of such incidents to hit the area.
The first incident happened on June 16, 1994 when the pole electrocuted a young school boy.
And in 2001 the same pole electrocuted another school boy but for the timely intervention of some passersby the boy would have died in the process.
It was gathered that the problem arises anytime it rains in the area and that is when the pole begin to crank and zap electricity.
The irate residents are pressing the family of the deceased to seek legal action against ECG, because they believe it was the laxity of ECG that has caused the death of the young girl.
Checks by Today at the pole ascertained that ECG were mindful of the problem and as a result had coated the anchor wire that supported the pole with a black thick rubber.
According to eye witnesses, on Saturday around the said time young Priscilla together with her younger brother were on their way to buy toffee from a provision store that was a walking distance from their house.
This was in the wake of the wide jubilation that erupted after Ghana had beaten the US 2-1.
The eye-witnesses told this reporter that it was whilst they [Priscilla and her brother] were returning from the shop that little girl unsuspecting touched the anchor wire which was serving as a support base to the electricity pole.
Immediately, she was electrocuted and fainted onto the ground.
This situation, according to some residents, moved the younger brother to help, but he also felt the shocking waves of the electricity and thus retreated to call for help.
“…At this point, little Priscilla fell on the ground unconscious, lying there for about twenty-five minutes with nobody coming to her rescue”, Paa Fred, a Poly student, who is resident in the area told Today.
The paper gathered that it was later that one Mr Kwadwo Asante, a taxi driver, single-handedly rushed the victim to El-Shaddai clinic, and later to Holy Trinity clinic, where she was finally pronounced dead.
However, ECG field officials on Sunday, around 12:45 p.m., visited the area and had the pole checked.
Though, after checking the pole with their devices they could not identify the problem, they promised to have the problem resolved as early as practicable to avert future deaths.
STORY: ATO KEELSON
