It saddens me whenever I see state institutions purposefully discriminating against the underprivileged on the discriminant of their security. Our 1992 constitution has no quota that gives some section of his citizens “first-class citizenship” and others “second class citizenship”. Since the emerging of PRE-PAID meters, there’s this discrimination by ECG and it needs to be addressed immediately before the worst happens. Ghanaians are not timid but they respect themselves and the law and will always love to live in a peaceful environment but if this daylight gross disrespect and discrimination continues, the cat will surely come out the sack, and it will harm everybody including its owner.
According to the 1992 Ghana Constitution on the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, it states that;
- Chapter 17, clause 2. A person shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed or social status.
- Chapter 18, clause 2. No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of his home, property, correspondence or communication except in accordance with law and as may be necessary in a free and democratic society for public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the protection of health or morals, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others.
I have been monitoring the distribution of these PREPAID meters in the slums, cities and estates and you will be shocked to the bone marrow, how the lives of the deprived are undermined with impunity. In the slums the meters of these people are pasted on EGC poles outside, wow! not caring about their security, or is it because they don’t have enough, they are considered as less target my criminals? On the contrary, meters are being shared with regards to residence; a house per meter. However, in the cities, the so-called first-class citizens have their meters in their homes while the perceived poor individuals have their meters on ECG poles. Form the above mode of sharing of these meters, over and over again, state institution has ludicrous or ridiculous as it may sound have underrated the safety of these people in our communities.
When are we as a nation going to respect the poor and discontinue treating the poor as “unimportant human beings” in their in own country? However, if the managers of ECG are deliberately jeopardizing our citizens’ safety with impunity then it becomes a worrisome situation and needs to be addressed. If Ghana is our homeland as our National Anthem goes, then our leaders ought to accord us with much respect and prioritize our safety and also, as its enshrined in our 1992 constitution there should not be a deliberate attempt to discriminate among the less privilege ones and presume that all poor people are criminals and desperate people who will temper with meters.
Have the managers thought of criminals tampering with the meters in the night just to trap people to come out of their rooms and exposing them to all kind of dangers? Thus, the managers of ECG have no justification for this pure Human Right abuse. How on earth will you presume that, because someone is underprivileged, therefore, such individual will temper with meters, wherefrom this mind-set, who even conceived this mind-set?
As Stonebwouy said in one of these songs “rebel liberation”:
“tell we where we gonna run go
after making our motherland a bitter place to live
tell we where we gonna run go
wen dem say we have to pay for the oxygen we breathe
answer me now Mr. big man”
Have the managers of this meters thought of how atmospheric temperature can affect the longevity these meters exposed to constants rains, gases and sunshine, hmmm.
There is a popular saying that, “irrespective of how deep your village is, how poor you are, ballot boxes and our politicians will come to you in the quest to solicit for your votes”. There a wind of civilian liberation circulating among the length and breadth of these nation and it will better we accord maximum respect to each and every one in the sharing of the national cake before we say if we had known?
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