By Sallieu S. Kanu
The government of Sierra Leone will overhaul the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA ) to minimizes losses and position it to finance itself from revenue it is generating without relying on government for subsidy, a senior government official said Tuesday.
Chairman of the Special Initiative for Climate Change, Renewable Energy, and Food Security, Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella told a regular government news conference in Freetown that if EDSA is not reformed it will accrue a loss of US$431 million by 2027. “EDSA is losing 4 out of every 10 unit it’s selling,” he said.
“If we do not fix EDSA the economy will die,” he said.
He said that the government will audit EDSA and install an effective monitoring system to reduce loss at its minimum.
He said the government would review the management structure of both EDSA to ensure that the board of entity is made up of professionals and technocrats to provide the leadership which is required to drive the government energy initiative forward.
Dr Yumkela noted that without reforming EDSA, the government energy initiative will not be built on a solid foundation. He spoke about the government tangible initiative to build a solid energy foundation for the country which they hope to attain in the next three years.