Freetown, Sierra Leone–Red, green, blue and yellow lights drape the Comium
building. A Christmas tree with blinking bulbs is also on display at the offices
of the telecommunications company. It is an exceptional sight in the capital
city of Freetown, which has been without reliable electricity since the 1980s,
thanks to poor governance and civil war.
Street hawkers try to sell Christmas lights but few are buying. Since
electricity from the National Power Authority is inadequate, anything with a
plug requires a privately owned generator. In a nation recently ranked at the
bottom of the UN Human Development Index, the majority of the country is left in
the dark.
A local columnist recently asked, "Do we know it's Christmas?" Theo Nicol of
Premier News says no: Sierra Leoneans don't have the money to celebrate
the holiday. Despite a recent change in government, the economy remains in
shambles, prices of goods are rising and unemployment is rampant. Electricity
could be the one thing that will let Sierra Leoneans know it's Christmas, he
says.
During last summer's presidential and parliamentary elections, all parties
promised power to the people. After a victory by opposition party All People's
Congress, newly elected President Ernest Bai Koroma set a date to light up the
streets of Freetown – tomorrow, five days before Christmas and one day after
Eid.
Newspaper headlines have been counting down the days. The citizens are
hopeful. Electricity will support business, create jobs, improve health care and
speed development. "With electricity, all the other issues may be addressed,"
Nicol says.
Hairdresser Idriss Kamara, 30, says the salon he works at doesn't have
electricity, making his job difficult. If power returns to Freetown, he says,
business will improve.
Not everyone is convinced. "I don't know about the electricity," says Safie
Kamara, 31. The street vendor feels the electricity will only bring "small,
small" change.
Energy is the president's top priority, says Dr. Lancelot Ayo Lake, chair of
the presidential energy emergency task force. "Without energy supplies, it will
be very difficult for the country to emerge from the poverty it's in."
Currently, the task force is working around the clock to set up an emergency
restoration power supply of generators for Freetown. Lake says a 15-megawatt
power plant has been commissioned, funded by the government of Sierra Leone and
the World Bank, plus independent power producers are on board for a joint
venture with the National Power Authority.
Christmas is a big celebration in Freetown. Taxis are decked out in garlands.
Cellphone ring tones are replaced with Christmas carols. Street carnivals
dominate social calendars for December, and churches and beaches are packed on
Dec. 25.
JCs also return home. JC stands for "just come," Sierra Leonean slang for
expatriates who come back to visit for the holidays.
"Most of the people out there, they want to come back home," says Haja Afsatu
O.E. Kabba. The minister of power and energy hopes that electricity will serve
as a confidence builder for investment in Sierra Leone.
Kabba says her biggest challenge is convincing Sierra Leoneans that power is
possible and that change is possible.
Kabba is passionate about energy. "Electricity is something, when it is on,
and the network is in a good state, it flows like water." Unfortunately water
doesn't flow in most of the city, either, since water pumps also depend on
electricity throughout the hills of Freetown.
"It will definitely come on," she declares. Parts of Freetown already have
electricity, she points out.
Electrical power is symbolic in Sierra Leone, Lake says. "It will represent a
significant shift in government policies and the way government does business,"
explains Lake. "In the past, it has been very difficult for government to make a
commitment."
If the city is lit up tomorrow, it will be a big Christmas gift, says Nicol.
"It will be very joyful, lovely. People are going to be happy."
Freetown, Sierra Leone–Red, green, blue and yellow lights drape the Comium
building. A Christmas tree with blinking bulbs is also on display at the offices
of the telecommunications company. It is an exceptional sight in the capital
city of Freetown, which has been without reliable electricity since the 1980s,
thanks to poor governance and civil war.
