By Mohamed T. Massaquoi
The Bango Fishing Enterprise, a subsidiary of Marouf Saad Company, could be fined up to Le50 million if found guilty of electricity theft.
The company is under investigation by the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) on suspicion of illegally connecting to EDSA power source and using electricity without paying.
A raid by EDSA and CID officials last week Tuesday led the arrest of the manager of Bango Fishing Enterprise.
An EDSA spokesman said the raid revealed that the company had been stealing electricity from the main power grid.
Sahr Nepor, Public Relations Officer of EDSA, said staff at the company initially resisted the EDSA and CID officials when they went to conduct the raid at the company’s premises.
“There was an intelligent that this fishing company was utilizing power without paying for it, so our guys went to the place. They inspected the premises even though initially they were restricted not to have access to the building because the company knew they are engaged in illegal connection of electricity. All of their fishing components within their structures were connected illegally, which is to say they do not even have a metric system,” he said.
He stressed that EDSA has the power to fine the fishing company as high as Le50 million if they are found guilty.
“If they are found wanting, we would evoke the penalty as stipulated in the national electricity Act of 2011 and if they refused to pay then they will be prosecuted by the state counsel,” he said.
EDSA said they found out that the company had been stealing electricity for the last two years. The spokesman said the illegally sourced electricity wasn’t just used to power company machineries, but was also to power residential homes within the compound where the fishing company is operating.
The crackdown against Bango was part of an ongoing campaign by EDSA to stop illegal connections to the national grid. The power supplying authority has been on these raids for the last three months, according to its spokesman, who noted that they already have numerous cases of such under investigation at the CID.
Nepor said the Authority is losing millions of Leones to illegal connections like this.
“These are companies that consume a lot of electricity. Any cooling system consume a lot of electricity. So, you could imagine how much they have been consuming over the years without paying for it,” he said.
A source at the CID told Politico that the manager of Bango, a Mr Jalloh, only spent two days at the CID, and that he was released amidst counter claims that they had been paying to EDSA.
At the offices of Bango, which is located at the back of Wilberforce Street, security officers stationed at the entrance of the building told Politico that no official was available to talk to anyone.
“We are aware of the raid; the manager and the PRO are around, but they don’t speak to journalists. So, we will not let you in,” one of the security officers named Abdul, said.
Even a request for contacts for senior officials of the company was turned down.
© 2019 Politico Online
