June 3, 2021
By: Ilyasa Baa
The rampant theft of electricity cables across the country has sparked serious public attention and the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Dr. Ambrose Sovula has alerted all the Crime Officers together with the Local Unit Commanders (LUCs) to step up the search for those stealing the cables, thereby causing a negative effect on electricity distribution to the public.
According to the Sierra Leone Police Media Department, the theft of electricity cables is regarded as a critical national infrastructure security threat. IG Sovula has commanded that any case of cable theft must be expedited. “If it reaches the threshold, send them to Freetown,” the IG is said to have told his LUCs in the provinces.
These stealing, according to the IG, are going to be stopped so that members of the public benefit from the supply of the electricity the government is supplying.
The Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) have been blamed the theft of their cables as a major factor responsible for some of the reported blackouts. It could be recalled that a Constable was promoted by the IG for catching a cable thief at Kingtom.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy is working on providing light for grey areas including Deep Eye Water in the Western Rural District where preparations are ongoing for the installation of transformer so that the village will get light for the first time, since its foundation.