Sierra Leone News

Posts Tagged ‘light in freetown’

Hello again, I’ve been busy and mad! Mad with the lack of light that’s plaguing Freetown again. I remember last year this time when – we Freetownians – were all basking in the new found Bumbuna light and praising the government for doing the unprecedented. Children danced in the street – “Light don come” or something to that effect. Music blared around every street corner and there was a general positivity about progress in Sierra Leone. I will boast to our diaspora friends about how good things are happening….

One Year On….

Fast forward one year on and we’re back the darkness that prevailed when we came in 2008 not to mention the noisome generators. This started – for those of us that live in Lumley – in about February and it became so bad that around the 1st of May there was a big brouhaha as the fuel price was increased from Le17,500 per gallon to Le22,000 or so. In addition to this increase, fuel is now sold in litres instead of gallons.

There were queues at petrol stations as dealers refused to sell for one reason or the other. In the absence of electricity, the only reliable source of light is the generator which needs fuel. Fuel price increase is bad enough but scarcity compounds the problem.

Now I can say, fuel shortages only lasted for about 3 days at the beginning of May, now we do have more expensive fuel but no electricity.

There may be a myriad of reasons why and I’ve seen and heard as well as read Minister this or that say this or that…. quite frankly it doesn’t matter.

Bottom line is unless there’s 24/7 light no economy can grow to it’s fullest potential . Poverty will still be endemic and businesses will charge and arm and a leg for goods and services.

As I’m writing my generator is on… I wonder when I’ll switch it off for good….

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Back to the darkness we’ve not experienced for sometime. Not impressed but at least they gave notice. Wonder how often this will be. When one gets used to electricity, it’s hard to go back to the pitch blackness that pervades when it’s absent.

Now getting used to noisy generators, candles, torches… etc all over again and oh I’m about to fry all the fish in my freezer to prevent them from getting spoilt…

We’re expecting the light back on Friday / Saturday. FYI

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• Bumbuna blog