By Nasratu Kargbo
In the last 15 years, successive Governments have spent over nine hundred and eighty-five million United States Dollars on electricity generated by Turkish Karpowership, an amount which according to Budget Advocacy Network’s (BAN) National Coordinator Abubakarr Kamara, is enough for the country to own its own power –supply vessel .
He said this in Volume one of a video documentary series titled ‘Tragedies of Politics’.
Volume one of the series which focuses on what they named ‘debt and death of State-Owned Institutions and Parastatals’ explained that for the past five years, President Julius Maada Bio’s administration has spent additional millions of dollars to what the previous government had already spent.
Speaking at the official Launch of the documentary Executive Director of Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) Andrew Lavali said “By 2018, the previous government had spent over five hundred million dollars on electricity and still left Sierra Leone in darkness”.
He said the money spent by the government over the years, could have been sufficient enough to get two or more hydro-power plants for the nation.
Lavali said the ship is paid six to seven million dollars every month, all the more reason why government struggles to pay. Speaking on per unit cost of megawatt, he said “Currently we are paying twenty-four US cents, and even though SLPP (ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party) negotiated downwards, it is still unaffordable”.
The Executive Director said he believes it is better to tell people that they’ll go months without electricity, get the situation fixed and give them a sustainable one, rather than trying to do something that’s not sustainable.
He added that the four hundred million dollars the country stands to get from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), is way below the money spent on electricity over the years. He said State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) can make profit, if they are efficiently managed, and the country can finance most of its domestic projects.
“When political compensation takes prominence in appointments, institutions head for complete failure”, Lavali continued, blaming politics for being a contributing factor to the failure of SOEs and parastatals.
Lavali then in the documentary highlighted many SOEs that he said failed due to politics- citing the 2014 Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) and Rokel Commercial Bank near collapse, with 70% of their bad debtors being either politicians, government officials or businesses affiliated with politicians. Speaking of recent events he mentioned the country’s once highest source of revenue Sierratel , which he said is dying, with workers having to go on regular strikes for backlog pay.
He noted that the documentary is not meant to target any person or institution, but to help proffer solutions that would help SOEs and parastatals work efficiently and in the interest of Sierra Leoneans.
Tragedies of Politics is an economic governance documentary series that looks into the affairs of the state and how certain decisions have affected the country.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/11/23)
