ELECTRICITY ON TEMPLE RUN
…EDSA Misplaces Power Switch Key
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
It appears authorities at the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) and officials at the Ministry of Energy have either misplaced the master key to the national power switch or have simply forgotten how to turn the lights on in Sierra Leone.
From the west of Freetown to the far east of the capital and across several parts of the country, citizens are now trapped in what can only be described as stygian darkness — a suffocating, pitch-black nightmare that has swallowed homes, businesses and entire communities.
Nowhere is the suffering more brutal than in the eastern part of Freetown, where residents say they have gone for over two months without seeing any meaningful electricity supply at night. In many communities, power only “blinks” for a few miserable minutes during the daytime before disappearing again into the abyss like a cruel joke.
As darkness descends every evening, entire neighborhoods are abandoned to unbearable heat, fear and frustration. Families sleep in suffocating rooms drenched in sweat. Students struggle to study under candlelight and dying torchlights. Small businesses collapse daily as frozen foods rot, cold rooms shut down and generators gulp expensive fuel many can no longer afford.
Yet despite this catastrophic collapse, millions of dollars continue to disappear into the energy sector with almost nothing to show for it.
At the center of this growing national outrage remains Karpowership — the floating power barge that continues to feed fat on the suffering of Sierra Leoneans while delivering darkness instead of electricity. Year after year, the company reportedly receives millions of dollars, yet the power situation continues to deteriorate with frightening speed, especially during every dry season.
For many angry citizens, Karpowership has now become less of an electricity provider and more of a ruthless predator feeding endlessly on public funds while ordinary people drown in darkness.
What makes the situation even more insulting is the endless Government propaganda claiming that the country is now generating “sufficient electricity.” If electricity generation is indeed sufficient, Sierra Leoneans are asking a simple question: where exactly is the power going?
Because what citizens are experiencing daily is not improvement. It is regression.
The reality on the ground completely contradicts the glossy press conferences, rehearsed speeches and polished statistics repeatedly rolled out by authorities. Every year, the electricity crisis worsens. Every dry season, the darkness deepens. Every promise made by officials evaporates faster than the electricity itself.
Today, Freetown — once known as the “Athens of West Africa” — now sinks nightly into a frightening sea of darkness resembling a city under siege.
Roads disappear into blackness. Criminal activities thrive under the cover of darkness. Hospitals struggle. Businesses bleed. Children suffer. Citizens remain abandoned in what increasingly feels like a nation without a functioning energy sector.
Meanwhile, those entrusted with solving the crisis continue to offer excuses while the people continue to endure endless blackouts, unbearable hardship and economic strangulation.
For thousands of suffering Sierra Leoneans, this is no longer merely an electricity problem.
It is a national disgrace.