The Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) has noted with grave concern that the CLSG rural electrification project meant to provide reliable energy to 29 rural communities in Sierra Leone have ended with only five communities connected to electricity, leaving 24 others without power.
Auditors say this problem was also mentioned in a previous audit, but there has been no major improvement since then.
During a physical inspection exercise, auditors found that most of the villages had no electricity supply at all. The report says this means the main goal of the project has not been achieved.
The auditors now recommend that the nation’s Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) should take appropriate measures to ensure the provision of electricity to the remaining 24 communities.
In its response, the EDSA management said that the five connected communities receive power directly from substations in Kenema and Bikongor. They explained that the other 24 communities cannot be connected because of a fault in the shield wire system, which affects about 90 percent of those areas.
EDSA further stated that its engineers, working with teams from TRANSCO and Côte d’Ivoire’s CIE, are still investigating the problem; adding that the work is ongoing and the communities will be connected soon. EDSA also confirmed that project assets and spare materials have already been handed over to them.
However, the auditor general noted that there is still no clear timeline or plan showing when the remaining communities will finally get electricity. As a result, the issue remains unresolved, leaving many rural families without power despite the project’s completion.
