By Sulaiman Jalloh

Hon. Mohamed Papa Bangura of the All People’s Congress Party (APC) representing the people of Bombali District in the North-East region of Sierra Leone has said the issue of power outage in the country is becoming a burning issue. He observed that the issue has raised concerns among the people of Bombali District especially residents of the Makeni municipality.

According to Hon Bangura, for the past weeks they have recorded many fire incidences which have been linked to the poor power outage in the District and the country at large.

In an exclusive interview with Expo Times, Hon. Bangura said the distribution of electricity in the country is causing problems for citizens and residents.

“The inconsistency of electricity supply is causing so much damage” he pointed, mentioning a fire incident that engulfed a female hostel at one of the universities in the part of the African country. He added that, the incident occurred a few hours later after they as elected Members of Parliament summoned the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), expressing disappointment on  Sierra Leone Fire service, saying the single engine that is available for the entire region is not working something he said is ‘becoming worried’.

The MP thanked the lecturers, community members and students of the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) for their timely intervention to halt the fire at the female hostel. He said he had stood under Standing Orders Twenty-Three (SO23) in the Well of Parliament to get the attention of the Ministry of Energy and the Office of National Security (ONS). He stressed that electricity is a national security issue because according to him it sec scars away investors in the country something he said he don’t want it to happen.

The law marker said, the EDSA had complained about poor electrical connectivity in Makeni is responsible for the consistent fire incident in Makeni. He said the inconsistency of electricity is only happening recently; noting the moment the light comes on it comes with power.

He however, assured that as the people’s representative they will all humanly possible to address the issue, noting they are guided by law.