Senate Pro-Tempore Chie reveals
By Ethel A. Tweh
The Government of Liberia is indebted to the West African Power Pool from neighboring Ivory Coast, in the tone of US$9m, Senate President Pro-Tempore Albert T. Chie discloses here.
Senate Chie says due to the debt, Ivory Coast is reneging to send power to Liberia until the money is paid.
He explains that Grand Gedeh, Maryland, and Nimba counties, amongst others, have been receiving current from Ivory Coast for a very long time, but only Nimba has been paying her bills.
He says the other counties used the electricity without paying, causing the Government of Liberia to owe this huge amount of money.
Speaking in the Chambers of the Liberian Senate on Tuesday, January 11, Chie also disclosed that Guinea and Sierra Leone have already signed up to the West African Power Pool, but Liberia is yet to sign up because of indebtedness.
Also speaking, Maryland County Senator Gbleh-bo Brown says he, as a senator pays electricity bills in his county, noting that because the previous and present Liberian administrations fail to put in place regulatory measures for the current, leading people to power theft that has accumulated the amount.
For their part, Senators Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence and Jonathan L. Kaipay of Grand Bassa County note that during their annual break, the people of Grand Bassa complained of lack of electricity in the county.
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According to Sen. Kaipay, he uses his private generator at his house in Grand Bassa County, not the West African Power Pool but residents think he has access to such facility and doesn’t want them to benefit as well.
Speaking about their break, most of the senators reiterate issues about bar road connectivity across the country, which they note causes problems for both citizens and leaders.
Maryland County Senator James Biney, now with the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, says President Weah, Speaker Chambers, Deputy Speaker Kofa, Senate Pro-Tempore Chie and other key officials of government hail from the southeast, but yet road conditions there are very deplorable.
Senator Biney wonders how residents access hospitals in the southeast when the roads are not pliable. However, he assures the southeastern roads will be paved under the Weah Administration to bring relief to citizens.
Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon though his county hosts the nation’s capital, also suffers bad road conditions, noting that Brewerville, Artington, Clay Ashland and Todee all look like bush cities due to lack of road and electricity.
Liberia runs an 88 Megawatt hydropower Plant but the distribution of electricity across the country remains a serious challenge for the government.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/president-weah-to-dedicate-transco-line-of-246-megawatt-soon/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
