Minister of Energy, Alhaji Dr. Kanja Sesay
Minister of Energy, Alhaji Dr. Kanja Sesay, has stated that the level of illegal electricity abstraction is very alarming and has led to a huge loss of revenue.
Alhaji Kanja Sesay was speaking in a Press Conference at his electricity house office in Freetown to raise awareness about the massive revenue loss the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) has incurred over the years due to the deliberate act of some citizens who abstract electricity illegally.
He called on citizens to imbibe the patriotic culture of citizens’ security, by helping his Ministry and the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) secure or protect electricity facilities across the country.
Dr Sesay revealed that they will soon start house-to-house meter inspections to weed out those who engage in electricity theft and apply the untraditional method of naming and shaming individuals discovered stealing electricity.
Dr Sesay spoke about the many positive strides and reforms that were taking place in the sector but was quick to note that the gains had been threatened or undermined by a lot of challenges, including but not limited to huge arrears owed to EDSA by MDAs, as well as other forms of technical and commercial losses; vandalization of electricity installations, and the unlawful abstraction of electricity. “A combination of these factors is making it very difficult for EDSA to fulfil its financial obligations to power providers, and this will, in turn, have a rippling effect on the provision of electricity,” he noted.
Director General at EDSA, Dr. Joe Lahai, spoke about customer service mechanisms that his institution had put in place to address concerns from the public, and the efforts at regularizing the staff database of EDSA. With the energy sector and the Feed Salone agenda being inextricably linked, reforms continue in the sector.
