The Head of Security at the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Major (Rtd) Lawrance Appiah has warned that his outfit will not hesitate to adopt a shoot-to-kill to protect its installations against saboteurs.
According to him, the company has taken notice of some orchestrated attempts by some individuals to damage its facilities for reasons best known to them.
He said the company would resort to any legitimate means to ensure that its facilities which are also national assets are protected.
“We want to tell those who are doing this because they do not want the good of Ghana to be very careful.
We are ready with the soldiers. We know the rules of engagement but we will not hesitate if arrest will not work; to shoot-to-kill because Ghana must succeed,” he emphasised.
Major Appiah warned when he addressed journalists after a tour of some fuel pipelines in the Tema power generating enclave believed to have been set on fire by some unscrupulous individuals last Sunday.
He narrated that on Sunday April 7, between 11pm and 12pm, one of their security personnel manning their security tower noticed that one of the pipelines which carried fuel from the jetty at Tema Oil Refinery to their enclave had been set on fire and quickly informed the security patrol team.
Major Appiah said the patrol team rushed to the scene and discovered that the pipelines indeed had been set on fire by some unknown person with lorry tyres and quickly put out the fire.
He said their checks revealed that the pipelines which were touched belonged to Cirrus Oil Services Limited, however, due to the explosive nature of fuel often carried in the pipelines, it could have spelt disaster not just for that company, but other installations including the Volta River Authority (VRA) and GRIDCo.
“We all know how the government is working hard to improve power for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, some people are not interested and are trying to do things to bring it down.
We are not going to sit down and allow it, so we have done all that we need to do,” he stressed.
He said following the series of attacks recently, GRIDCo has intensified its security in the area as well as its installations across the country, adding that, “We have soldiers, police, the Bureau of National Investigations and National Security assisting us to ensure that we nip it in the bud.”
Major Appiah also appealed to the general public to be vigilant and offer information to the security agencies to enable them arrest the unscrupulous individuals behind such dastardly acts and bring them to book.
He said any destruction of national installations would not only affect operations but would derail the development process of the country therefore, Ghanaians should be concerned about such acts.
On his part, the Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment for Cirrus Oil Services Limited, Mr. Daniel Amehoe confirmed that the pipelines were theirs but could not proffer any explanation for the attempt to burn it down.
He explained that ordinarily those pipes would have been buried under the earth but were exposed because their engineers were working on the lines.
Mr Amehoe said the pipes would have exploded if it was carrying fuel, adding that “because our engineers are working on those lines, it only contained water and perhaps that was the reason why they did not succeed”.
By Cliff Ekuful
