The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) over the past months has been under the canopy of countless number of protest by residents of Monrovia and its environs due to the lack of adequate electricity supply to its many customers.
This situation has overwhelmed several communities with the loss of lives due to the lack of electricity as a result of the usage of gasoline generators in many homes many have been victims; either injury or death.
Some residents of Barnersville Estate, specific in Area ‘A’ who have been out of electricity due to the destruction of their transformers are also expressing frustration over the delay of the LEC to restore their damaged transformers, but resolved not to protest as it is been done by the other communities.
“We will not protest, but to appeal to the management for consideration in restoring of transformer; we are appealing to that entity,” the Chairman of the community speaking to the GNN noted.
In recent times several communities including Jallah Town and Caldwell angrily placed roadblocks in their respective communities to avoid free movement in demand of electricity supply in their areas.
Hundreds of aggrieved residents of the Jallah Town Community in Monrovia during the early morning hours of Monday, February 8 staged a violent protest, setting roadblocks stalling normal working, business, and academic activities, in demand of the effective and efficient supply of stable and affordable electricity to their homes and businesses by the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).
These aggrieved residents complained that for nearly three years now, their homes and businesses are yet to be connected by the LEC despite countless numbers of efforts applied by them.
They claimed that the government, particularly authorities of the LEC, has been allegedly playing deaf ears to ensure the restoration of electricity to their community.
In addition to setting road blocks, the aggrieved residents also chanted anti-government slogans and held placards with inscription, No Current, No Passage; Access to current is our right; among others in the presence of officers of the Police Support Unit (PSU) of the Liberian National Police (LNP).
“Since January 3, 2019 up to present, we have not received current. Our people survive from cold water, cool aid, and sour milk selling. We do not have any worker here with government; NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) nothing. So, today we are here to say enough is enough.”
The protesters claimed that more attention is being given to the installation of street lights by the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led-government of President George Manneh Weah as compare to the supply of public electricity to homes, businesses, as well as the replacement of damaged or stolen transformers from various communities in Monrovia and other parts adjacent.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with reporters during the protest, the Chairman of the Jallah Town Community, Patrick Karmo, disclosed that multiple communications have been sent to the leadership of the LEC and the district and county leaders, but all of those efforts have not yielded fruitful results. Few weeks ago, four persons died including a lady who just graduated from the university of Liberia as a result of smoke from a generator being used for electricity.
