A music and event logistics company, Kacstone Records, has donated cash support to help connect the farming community of Nakolo-Kaporinia to the national electricity grid. The company made an initial cash presentation of GH¢6,000 and pledged an additional GH¢2,800, bringing the total support to GH¢8,800 to help complete the electrification project initiated by residents of the community.
The gesture was made on behalf of the Managing Director of Kacstone Records and Chairman of the Paga Youth Movement, Wenawome Duuriyem Aborah. Speaking during the presentation, a youth activist from the community, Bugase Thomas, explained that residents had been advocating for electricity in the area for more than a decade.
According to him, youth and women groups in the community began organizing themselves as far back as 2012 to seek support from politicians, non-governmental organizations and other institutions to extend electricity from the nearby Nakolo Primary School area to Kaporinia. However, he said the appeals yielded little results, forcing the community members to mobilize resources among themselves to initiate the project.
Mr. Bugase said the community managed to secure six electricity poles from the school area and later contributed funds to procure an additional 12 poles to extend electricity to the community.
“Some of the houses close to the first poles managed to connect electricity and used it to drill boreholes for dry season farming. So, we realized how important electricity is for our community,” he explained.
He noted that the community relies heavily on dry-season vegetable farming, but the lack of electricity limits their ability to drill mechanized boreholes for irrigation.
“As you can see, when there is no work here, most of the youth travel to mining areas to look for jobs. If we have electricity, we can drill more boreholes and do vegetable farming such as pepper, cabbage and onions,” he said.
Mr. Bugase disclosed that the community had already secured electricity poles and mobilized some funds, but still required about GH¢16,700 to cover cables, materials and workmanship needed to connect the system to the national grid.
He said contributions from residents and other supporters had reduced the deficit to about GH¢8,800 before the intervention from Kacstone Records.
“With the GH¢6,000 support from Kacstone Records and the pledged GH¢2,800, we are almost able to complete the project,” he added.
The Assembly Member for the Nakolo Electoral Area, Michael Asagewe, said he had been working with the community to mobilize resources to address the electricity challenge. He explained that despite several attempts, including letters to the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly, the community had not yet received government support for the electrification project.
“We realized that if we continue to wait for government support, it may take a long time. So, we decided to mobilize our own resources and appeal to well-meaning individuals to support the project,” he said.
Mr. Asagewe noted that access to electricity would help reduce youth migration from the community to mining areas in search of livelihood opportunities.
Making the presentation on behalf of the Managing Director of Kacstone Records, Raymond Adda said the donation forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. He explained that the decision to support the project was influenced by the community’s own efforts to mobilize resources to start the electrification initiative.
“It is always good when a community begins a project by itself and seeks support. When we came to the ground and saw the poles already erected, we realized the community was serious about the project,” he said.
Mr. Adda added that electricity would not only support farming activities but also help students in the community to study at night and improve their academic performance.
The Chief of Nakolo, Pe Gedeon Aloah III, expressed gratitude to Mr. Aborah and the company for the timely support. He said the electrification project would enable the youth to engage in dry-season farming through mechanized boreholes, thereby improving livelihoods.
The chief also noted that the availability of electricity would help reduce the migration of young people to neighboring Burkina Faso, where some risk of being exposed to insecurity and violent activities.
Community members expressed optimism that once the remaining funds are secured and the system is connected to the national grid, the project will transform economic activities and improve living conditions in Nakolo-Kaporinia.
A1 Radio | 101.1Mhz | Joshua Asaah | Nakolo
