By Saio Marrah
As a result of what is said to be a persistent power cut in Koidu in the Kono district, the leader of the Coalition for Change (C4C), Saa Emerson Lamina, representing Constituency 030, Kono, has called on the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy to exercise its oversight role and investigate the alleged “repetitive electricity blackout “for appropriate action to be taken.
The C4C leader made this recommendation during the five-day debate on the presidential address. Later speaking to Politico, Lamina said President Julius Maada Bio’s government has taken many developments to Kono and other parts of the country but claimed he’s received information from his constituents that Kono has been going through the blackout.
He said his call for the committee on energy to investigate the issue is because energy unlike other sectors, such as education, health, social welfare, and road construction, does not come under the mandate of the local council for any sort of investigation.
The MP said the lack of electricity is having huge socio-economic setbacks on the residents of Kono.
Another C4C member of parliament from Constituency 027, Saa Francis Bendu, had earlier described Koidu as being the darkest city in the country.
“We have a very good working generator, our problem is fuel. When you go to the powerhouse, those working for the powerhouse will tell you “we don’t have fuel”, but whenever there is a visit of high profile persons there will light for 24 hours,” he stated.
He alleged that “It is very possible that they are selling fuel or they are mismanaging it.”
He, therefore, called on the ministry of energy to do proper monitoring to allow the people of Kono to benefit from what the government has provided.
He also cautioned the ruling party to view the opposition members as their best friends because according to him, the opposition parties identify challenges and tell the government. He said if the government work on those challenges, there will be good governance and the people will continue to “re-elect the government over and over again”.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (06/06/22)
