By Politico staff writer
As part of efforts to improve rural electrification in Sierra Leone, Pujehun district in the Southern part of the country will after decades of lack of electricity supply access electricity again since over 35 years ago.
The project according to officials of the Ministry of Energy is part of the Seven District headquarter town Electrification project by the government that is aimed at ensuring access to electricity supply for all.
To kick-start the project in the district, the Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay has on Saturday 1st May, 2021 presented 836 (eight hundred and thirty-six) electricity poles and other construction materials to authorities in the district.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the minister said that the government through his ministry in December 2020 promised the people of Pujehun access to electricity which is what he was delivering on.
He said that the poles were of good quality and expensive, stating that Pujehun Town, Gobaru, Massan, Liyahun, Yoni and Potoru and its surrounding villages will benefit from the supply. He said the project is fully funded by the Government of Sierra Leone and therefore urged the people of Pujehun district to take ownership of it.
Among the Seven (7) districts that are to benefit from the project, he said he learnt from tours that some have gone for over forty (40) years without electricity which makes it a great concern to the President Julius Maada Bio led administration whose aim is to ensure that electricity is provided across the country before the end of his first term in office.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Francis Kaikai said as an indigene of Pujehun who also schooled there, he was aware of the decade long electricity challenge faced by the district. He therefore called on the people to monitor the project so that it benefits them.
Ibrahim Sheriff, a Civil Society representative, while being thankful for the development, informed the gathering that in the Town Hall meeting last year, the people of Pujehun district requested for electricity and he was happy that the Minister of Energy was there to ensure that they get electricity. He pledged their commitment as Civil Society activists in monitoring the project from inception stage to completion.
The Project Manager, Babajide Taylor said that the electrification project will take eight months to complete, adding that 836 poles will be erected in Pujehun with fourteen (14) transformers, twelve (12) kilometres of major voltage lines, forty (40) kilometers of low voltage lines, among others.
The district council Chairman Suhibu Sowa told Politico that Pujehun town had gone without electricity for over 35 years. He said they were excited at the prospect of power supply returning.
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