Mariama Admire Bundu: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 02 April 2024:
In a shocking revelation at last week’s government press conference on March 26th, 2024, Joe-Lahai Sormana, the Director General of Sierra Leone’s Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), came under intense scrutiny for his egregious mismanagement and lack of transparency, as citizens are denied their fundamental right to electricity.
Sormana’s startling disclosure exposed the dire financial debacle haunting EDSA, laying bare a deeply flawed pricing model that has pushed the utility company to the brink of collapse.
With audacious candour, he admitted, “We buy power but we charge our customers less than what we spend to buy power from Karpowership and other sources. So even before we start business, we are already running at a loss.”
This damning admission underscores Sormana’s blatant disregard for sound financial management, as EDSA continues to haemorrhage funds with each passing day.
The revelation has sent shockwaves across the nation, leaving citizens and stakeholders reeling in disbelief at the sheer incompetence displayed by the Director General.
Furthermore, Sormana’s remarks shed light on the egregious limitations imposed by his failed leadership, as he conceded, “We simply cannot provide what we don’t have. Full delivery of the 120 MW Freetown requires is beyond our current network capacity.”
This revelation lays bare the stark reality of EDSA’s dismal state under Sormana’s stewardship, with citizens left in the dark.
The Director General’s failure to address rampant electricity theft, further underscores his gross negligence and incompetence. With brazen disregard for the rule of law, Sormana shockingly claimed, “Nine out of ten citizens with access to electricity are either involved in theft themselves or know someone who is.”
This admission not only exposes the rampant corruption festering within EDSA but also highlights Sormana’s abject failure to curb illicit practices that further exacerbate the utility company’s financial woes.
As citizens reel from the fallout of Sormana’s mismanagement and lack of transparency, urgent calls for his removal have reached fever pitch.
The time for accountability is now, as Sierra Leoneans demand swift and decisive action to rectify the grave injustices perpetrated under Sormana’s tenure.
Anything short of his immediate dismissal would be a betrayal of the trust placed in those tasked with safeguarding the welfare of the nation.
The dire electricity situation in our country is a disgrace and Bio’s feet need to be held to the fire for the way he lambasted the last government, that was also useless in this matter, when he was running, promising a fix, but clearly failing. However, can we not call for the DG’s head when all he did was be honest? The government, not EDSA, sought a very expensive and unsustainable source of ectricity and to say this is mismanagement because they are not able to charge what they should be charging is very dishonest. They supposedly pay USD 0.25/KWH to Kapower. If they charged customers, anywhere near that, we would again scream and rightfully so, as that would be among the highest in the world. He was very on point with his assessment, we should applaud him in this instance. And people do steal electricity, or when water was available, break pipes to get water. Yes, EDSA needs to find ways to tackle this and do more, but I am sure it is not a practice the DG condones.