Investigation conducted by Night Watch Newspaper has shown that over six Electricity Distribution and Supply Agency (EDSA) workers have been laid off. No valid reason has been shown for their sacking. The sacked workers were investigated for neither a disciplinary nor criminal offence.

What is clear about the sacking, the workers according to a reliable source, have been replaced with incompetent and inexperienced workers. The source further intimated that the workers lack the knowledge EDSA requires to provide electricity in the country.

The new workers, the source went on, are young graduates from the University of Sierra Leone. Owing to their new experience, it is quite difficult for them to handle complex EDSA jobs. The source further informed the team that, political affiliations brought them in the institution. With such requirement, it is the people of Sierra Leone that suffer.

It goes without saying that when the right skills are not employed and deployed, state institutions stagnate. So be it for EDSA. Marked efficiency continues to hallmark EDSA operations. The efficiency inefficiency is hallmarked by the grumbling of the grumbling of the people over service provided by the agency. Like the provinces, Freetown still grapples with the problem of electricity.

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The city is slowly going back to Kabba Tiger period in which Freetown was described as the darkest in the world. The ‘Tiger Period’ is named after former President Kabba. It was during his regime the city fell into unprecedented darkness.

In Freetown, noisy sounds of electricity generators rent the air. Most offices and dwelling houses are badly affected by the noisy generators. But offices are the worst affected as official business is conducted under a difficult situation-noise. The darkness of the city is also cascaded to the provinces.

The southern capital of Bo is engulfed with total darkness. Bo city could go for weeks without electricity, a situation that created widespread public outcry in the city. On several occasions, Bo residents have called for the resignation of the Energy Minister.

 

The northern capital, Makeni almost invariably sees perpetual darkness the same way Bo City does. The northern capital was quite bright in the days of the past government. The brightness continued on to the time New Direction government took over.

The foundation for darkness in Makeni City was laid by government’s move to relocate a thermal plant from Makeni to the northern town of Lungi. Government’s movement of relocating the machine was to bolster electricity in that part of the country.

A resident in Makeni, Umaru Kamara has told this team that Makeni no longer enjoyed the electricity it used to enjoy in previous times. “We now enjoy light few days in the week. Light is now being rationed. The means not every part of Makeni gets electricity at the same time,” Umaru Kamara told our team.

 

Despite the allegations of weak electricity service in the country, Kamara hold a contrary view. He partially agrees with allegations of recruitment by political affiliations at EDSA. He pointed out the chase of former President Koroma as the main cause for damaging electricity in the country.

Between 2014 and 2015, the former energy supplier, NPA (National Power Authority) was unbundled. The unbundling resulted into the emergence of two separate but closely related institutions: EDSA and EGTC (Electricity Generation and Transmission Authority).

The aim was to ensure an efficiently supply of energy throughout the country. But, the purpose was never successful. Recruitment by political affiliation has defeated that purpose.

Mass sacking is not only known in EDSA. A great number of public institutions have seen similar problem.