By: Precious Miracle Kargbo
In a vox pop interview conducted on 3rd November 2023, citizens in Freetown, Sierra Leone have expressed their ultimate concerns over the services and inefficient power supply of EDSA in Freetown for three consecutive days.
Abdul Lamin, a resident at Campbell Street western Area urban outlined that EDSA has made no progress on their services but all they have cared about is the increment of tariff prices which they often made without any notices to the public but yet still they have accepted it and have been paying their dues without any complain.
He continues that several concerns have been raised on the high cost of tariff prices and questions the reasons behind raising taxes and tariffs while EDSA is making no efforts to reduce blackouts and brownouts, He also emphasizes that in countries where leaders prioritize their citizens’ well-being, higher taxes often translate into more efficient and improved public services so the government should ensure that they monitor the operations of EDSA to the public as so many people are struggling at the time being.
Furthermore, a business vendor also vents out her concern Alimatu Sillah a dealer at Abacha street rants out frustration that over two weeks she has been unable to run her restaurant business as her products in the refrigerator have decayed and now afraid of losing customers at her restaurant. Sillah affirms that she has always been paying the EDSA charges as early and wonders why they are being treated this way pointing out that the least they deserve as citizens is to get the services they are paying for.
Abubakarr Kamara,a seasoned journalist of PASV radio went out to recall that about two years ago, the Government of Sierra Leone decided to privatize the energy sector by transforming it from the National Power Authority (NPA) to become a private entity that was divided in to Electricity Generation and Transmission Corporation (EGTC) and EDSA all in a bid to have an improve service delivery in terms of electricity supply in the country.
Kamara furthers that to the greatest dismay of many Sierra Leoneans, these entities i.e. EGTC and EDSA, charged with the responsibility of providing electricity for the country seem inevitably incompetent and incapable of doing what they should do for the people.
“When they started operation two years ago, they understandably changed all postpaid meters inherited from NPA to Pre-paid meters in a bid to adequately generate funds for the smooth running of their operations but till date electricity problem in the country especially Freetown is still a big course for concern leaving the citizens to ponder whether EDSA is actually up to the task”, he intimated.
Meanwhile, several attempts have been made to reach out to EDSA and its administration but their responses even on mainstream media is that they are not to be blamed for the frequent fluctuation of Electricity but the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict that has caused a huge impact on the energy sector not only in Freetown but throughout the world.
Conclusively, Citizens all over the country have expressed their deepest frustration over the incompetent and disgraceful manner the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) is handling the electricity supply in the country especially in the capital city and are really craving on the indulgence of the government to question their operations and improve their services in the country.