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Member of Parliament [MP] for Lower Manya Constituency in the Eastern Region, Ebenezer Okletey Terlarbi says the police must with immediate effect drop all charges against residents of his constituency who were arrested during a protest against Power Distributing Services [PDS].

He explained on NEAT FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’ that “my people” had a calm protest until the police marred the “peaceful” event with gunshots.

“They should drop all charges against those arrested and compensate appropriately the family of the boy who was killed,” he said - but failed to tell what he will do if authorities turn deaf ears to his call.

According to the lawmaker, the residents were justified in protesting the outrageous electricity bills they had been receiving from them.

The residents had insisted that the bills were outrageous and demanded the Power Distributing Services investigate the cause of the sudden rise.

Last Wednesday’s clashes also saw several others hospitalized after they sustained varied injuries. The police further arrested at least 35 individuals for their roles in the disturbance.

14-year-old Thomas Partey was hit by a stray bullet after security officers fired shots to dispel the crowd who had mounted roadblocks ostensibly to prevent staff of PDS from switching off the main transformer that supplies power to the town.

Following the violent clash, a meeting was held between the community elders, Public Utility Regulatory Commission [PURC] and the PDS, where the distributor announced it had “cleansed” its billing system to reflect the actual debt owed by the residents.

This means the residents now have to settle a total of ¢84,625,624.87 instead of the initial ¢111,099,875, the PDS communicated after the meeting.

Listen to interview...