A popular pub at Nhyiaeso in Kumasi – +2 Pub – is facing closure due to its location. The pub has become a popular converging spot for many patrons in the Kumasi metropolis with live band music played during weekends and holidays.
It is, however, located right under an electricity transmission tower belonging to the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo). The gathering of people under the tower poses severe danger to human life and property as explosions and falling objects could result in high number of casualties and destruction of property.
Power outages in the area are also likely to be prolonged due to restricted access to the transmission towers caused by these commercial activities.
Besides +2 Pub, another restaurant, Goldfinger in Obuasi and The Truth Spirit of Life Ministry (church building) at Bomso, Kumasi are also facing closure. Other commercial activities under GRIDCo’s transmission towers in the Ashanti Region, including vehicle workshops, shops, buildings, structures, vehicle hiring, and sales points will all be affected.
The Transmission Line Protection Regulations, 1967 (L.I. 542) as amended by Regulation No. LI.1737 of 2004 in Ghana, designates power transmission lines as prohibited zones; making it an offence to undertake any business or activity near them. The prohibited area extends to 20 meters on each side from the centre line of a transmission tower.
Over the past three months, GRIDCo has embarked on an extensive media campaign to get operators of businesses and other encroachers of its Right-of-Way to relocate or face shutdowns and prosecution. Recently, the company demolished structures under its transmission towers in the Accra and Tema Metropolis whilst halting ‘galamsey operations’ at Denkyira Brofoyedru and Asawinso.
Senior Officials of the power transmission company in Kumasi say they are working with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to eject the encroachers. All operators and inhabitants have been notified.
