The association of female staff of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Power Queens, has organised an outreach programme for market women at the Asafo Market in Kumasi.
The programme formed part of the association’s activities to educate the women on the need to adopt safety measures to avoid market fires and also to conserve energy.
They also educated them to always endeavour to employ the services of qualified electricians who would use the right materials in order to avoid fire outbreaks. Education through interactions
As part of the programme, members of the association went round to distribute leaflets, had one-on-one interactions with the women, and directed them to the appropriate authorities for their problems to be addressed. They also set up a customer service desk at the market where they provided on-the-spot meter connection services to the women.
The women were advised not to overload their sockets and not to leave their appliances on whenever there was a power outage and to ensure that all gadgets were switched off before they left the market.
They were also advised not to use the services of middlemen, also known as ‘goro’ boys, but instead to contact officials of ECG, who would show them the procedures to follow for the acquisition of meters.
Members of the association explained that it was possible for an applicant to acquire a meter within a day if the person had the required documents and paid the right fees before 12 noon.
The Ashanti East Regional Safety Officer, Mr Joseph Ekow Cole, advised landlords and shop owners to employ the services of qualified electricians for all their electrical services.
He said it would be better to spend more on employing the right calibre of professionals than to spend more to rebuild their houses. Services of qualified electricians
Mr Cole asked people wishing to employ the services of electricians to always contact the regional association of the Electrical Contractors Association of Ghana or the Energy Commission to get them properly certified and qualified electricians to do their wiring for them.
He said most fires resulting from electrical faults were caused by the use of unqualified electrical engineers and substandard materials.
He also said another thing that was a necessary and fundamental electrical safety in building was the earthing system, which he said protected houses from catching fire as a result of faulty electrical system.
The national president of the association, Mrs Rosemond Asamoah-Frimpong, said the regional association had been organising outreach programmes and decided to bring its educational programme to the market as a result of the recent rampant market fires.
She said the group found it expedient to educate the women on some of the things they could do to prevent fires at the markets and even in their homes. Outreach programmes in regions
Mrs Asamoah-Frimpong said the group would organise similar outreach programmes in the other regions for other market women to also benefit from the educational programme.
The Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of ECG, Mr Erasmus Kyere Baidoo, said the company had decided to take the education programme to the people and explain to customers the challenges the company was facing.
He said the programme also afforded them the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the customers, so that together they would find ways of resolving them.
Mr Baidoo appealed to the customers to pay their bills promptly to avoid being disconnected.
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