MONROVIA – A Nigerian man has been indicted for allegedly defrauding the Government of Liberia of US$350,000 through illegal connections to the Liberia Electricity Corporation’s power grid.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) Anti-Power Theft Team backed by officers of the Liberia National Police while on patrol in central Monrovia arrested Lee on October 17, 2018 when he was seen on one of LEC’s light poles trying to connect some customers.
Lee was arrested with a roll of electric wire, one plier and huge quantity of wires that he used to connect several apartments.
“David Lee criminally connected to the LEC pole directly in his bed room and used it as a base to connect other lines to supply power to residents across Benson Street and covers as far as the OK Dry Cleaning and People’s Building on Benson Street,” the indictment stated.
The indictment further stated that the act by the Defendant is contrary to 4LCLR, Title 26, Section 15.51 and 4 LCLR of the Statutory Laws of the Republic of Liberia.
It is not clear when Defendant Lee will go on trial but the laws require that one indicted for a criminal offence has two terms of court to be tried or else the court could be asked by the Defendant’s lawyer to dismiss the case against his or her client.
Defendant Lee is being indicted at the time when President George Manneh Weah has condemned and frown on the acts of power theft taking place in Monrovia and its environs and wants perpetrators prosecuted while stressing the frustration Liberians continued to express due to the lack of adequate electricity supply.
The President said: “There are more than 8000 new household connections, 324 new commercial connections, with 80 new large users added and in the process of being added. However, revenue collected accounts for about 40% of generated load, while power theft accounts for about 49% and technical losses accounts for 12%. There has not been a change in Tariff and that may not change until the problem of power theft is addressed through a policy reform.
Statistics showed that 10 % of power theft will cost the Liberia Electricity Corporation $8 million United States dollars. Today, because of the increase in illegal connections, the LEC is losing in excess of $35 million United States dollars per year to electricity theft.
This huge loss is preventing LEC from extending supply to many areas of the country where citizens are crying out for electricity. It is also preventing LEC from offering connections to many businesses, who in turn could offer much-needed employment opportunities to many Liberians.
Power theft is illegal, and sabotages the economy of our country. i appeal to you, my fellow liberians, to stop this behavior of power theft now!!”