Makeni riddled by Fuel Shortages & Blackout

Sports

The rate at which residents within the municipality of Makeni are walking up and down the streets of the city searching for fuel has caused serious concerns from stakeholders, civil society members, and others in that part of the country. These concerns, over the frequent shortages of fuel in the city and the limited supply of electricity to users and the main streets now seems to be overwhelming the population. A resident of Makeni, Mabinty Kargbo, a petty trader said, the shortage of electricity during the day and rationed supply at night is causing them huge losses because no one is buying their ice and yoghurt and sales have drastically reduced. Madam Mabinty Kargbo said the shut down of Bumbuna was not to her knowledge especially when she had taken a loan from a Micro-finance Office in Makeni. She explained that two days to the breakdown, she had bought a deep refrigerator and now sales have dropped and her major worry now is how to pay back the loan. Deputy manager of the National Power Authority, Makeni branch, Mohamed Conteh, said the issue of rationing supply of electricity in the municipality is not of their making but due to a technical fault at the Bumbuna hydro dam. The deputy manager however confirmed to Awoko that they have received word from the engineers at Bumbuna dam and that, by today, they will start continuous supply of power to Makeni city. He called on stakeholders to be able to manage the crisis whenever it occurs rather than making a loud noise of it. Shortage of fuel in this part of the country has impacted negatively on transportation, which presently is a major problem faced by many residents in Makeni. The price of commercial bikers known as ‘Okada’ has gone up and there is no sign of fuel supply in the city’s fuel stations. Twenty-six year old Okada rider, Ibrahim Bangura, in Makeni, alleged that he bought a litre of petrol for Le9,000 and are now left with no option but to charge his passengers Le2,000 for short distances and Le3,000 for far distances covered within Makeni. The pains caused by the shortage of fuel are numerous, as people from all works of life suffer from this shortage. A student of the St. Joseph Secondary School, 17 year old Fatmata Sesay said, now her parents have to pay Le6000 to and from school every day. Fatmata Sesay is expected to take her BECE exams but says her dream of becoming a journalist is gradually diminishing, as her parents cannot afford Le6,000 every day for her transportation. However many people in Makeni believe that the petrol dealers are keeping the fuel to generate or make profit. However a Safecon petrol dealer, Abass Kamara denied the allegation. Abass Kamara said their port does not have enough fuel to supply the city. By Mohamed Kabba

Fill the forms below to register

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.