Living without electricity: the story of six Ghana communities
Inhabitants of six cocoa farming settlements in the Wassa East District in the Western Region travel for miles to charge their phones because they have never had electricity for decades
Ghana has made significant progress over the past 10 years in increasing electricity generation and access. This has supported higher levels of economic growth in various districts across the country.
However, beneath these improvements lies inefficiencies, including extraordinarily high distribution losses. Presently, certain communities in Ghana have never enjoyed electricity since independence.
Six cocoa farming settlements – Ewiadaso, Abosomempim, Kwame Yaw, Ewusikaw, Dabi’na mew) h3n and Kojokury3n – in the Wassa East District in the Western Region have not been linked to the national grid since 1947, despite contributing to the growth of the economy.
Ewiadaso, which means “the sun is on” or “the sun is still shining,” and its neighbouring villages become pitch-dark during sunset. It is a situation they have lived with for ages until less than a year ago when four out of the six communities benefited from COCOBOD’s solar energy lamps which is providing 11,000 solar street lamps in cocoa, coffee and sheanut growing communities across the country.
The chief of Ewiadaso, Nana Gyimah told Asaase News that they are incurring cost in trying to stay in touch with the rest of the world.
A resident of Wassa East, Cissy and her family depend on cassava cultivation and processing during this period.
They hope that they will soon have electricity so that their gari processing business may improve from time-consuming and stressful milling of cassava.
Furthermore, the most dependable mode of transportation into the six communities is a motorcycle or pragyia, as well as the “aboboyaa” for hauling agricultural products.
Election Issue
Gyimah appealed to the government to connect their community to the national grid, adding it will be one of their key demands in the lead up to the 2024 elections.
Members of the community commute to the district capital Daboase to charge their phones.
Below is a full report by Nana Adjoa Entsuah-Hagan:
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