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The Mayor of Makeni has rejected claims by President Julius Maada Bio that between 60 and 70 percent of electricity supplied to the city is lost through theft and illegal connections, describing the figures as inaccurate and unfair.
Speaking in an interview with Liberty TV Online, the Mayor responded to remarks made by President Bio during a recent presidential town hall meeting, where the President alleged that widespread electricity theft in Makeni was contributing to significant financial losses in the country’s power sector.
The Mayor said he could not accept the figures presented by the President, arguing that Makeni should not be singled out without data comparing electricity losses across the rest of Sierra Leone.
“We will not agree with this data because Makeni is not the only city in Sierra Leone using electricity. A complete national database should be presented before drawing such conclusions,” he said.
He also questioned the basis of the claims, noting that Makeni has experienced prolonged power outages over the past six months.
According to the Mayor, many residents rely on prepaid electricity meters, making it difficult to understand how such high levels of electricity theft could be recorded when electricity supply has been inconsistent.
The Mayor said he has repeatedly raised the city’s electricity challenges with the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC), and the Ministry of Energy.
He added that the poor electricity situation in Makeni is well known to government institutions operating in the city, including the military, the police, and other public offices.
While welcoming the President’s town hall engagement as an opportunity to discuss development issues affecting Makeni, the Mayor said residents were disappointed that attention had shifted to allegations of electricity theft instead of addressing the city’s ongoing power supply challenges.
