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Residents and business owners in parts of central Freetown have been left in darkness for nearly a week, as electricity supply remains cut off in several key streets within the capital’s central business district.
Communities along Back Street, Lumley Street, Free Street, Short Street and parts of Regent Road have all been affected, forcing households and businesses to scramble for alternatives in order to cope.
The prolonged outage has taken a heavy toll on small businesses that depend on electricity to survive. Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, who operates a coffee shop on Back Street, says he has been forced to rely entirely on a generator to keep his business open.
“I spend about Le200 on petrol to power my generator just to continue my business,” Jalloh said in an interview with Sierraloaded noting that the additional fuel cost is eating into his already thin profit margins. Like many small-scale entrepreneurs in the city centre, he says he has no choice but to pass some of the cost on to customers or operate at a loss.
Residents say officials from the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) are aware of the situation but have yet to provide a lasting solution.
Mohamed Bangura, a resident of Lumley Street, said he and his neighbours saw EDSA engineers working on a pole earlier in the week, raising hopes that power would soon be restored.
“We saw some EDSA engineers on Tuesday climbing a pole and we thought they were solving the issue but it appears not to be the case,” Bangura said.
Bangura, a student at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), says the blackout has also disrupted his academic work. “Most of my notes are on my phone and laptop, but without electricity I’m unable to use them,” he explained, adding that the situation has left him struggling to prepare for classes and assignments.
Across the affected communities, the constant hum of generators now dominates the soundscape for those who can afford fuel. For others, nights are lit only by candles and rechargeable lamps, raising safety concerns and adding to daily hardship.
Business owners warn that if the outage continues, some may be forced to close temporarily, affecting employees and customers alike. Residents say the blackout is yet another example of unreliable public service delivery in the heart of the capital.
As frustration grows, many are questioning the effectiveness and responsiveness of EDSA, arguing that the authority’s inability to promptly resolve faults in the central business district reflects a troubling level of ineptitude, one that is deepening economic strain on businesses and compounding hardship for already burdened communities.
