Paynesville, Monrovia – A group of business people in Liberia’s largest commercial district of Red Light are calling on the management of the Liberia Electrical Corporation (LEC) to swiftly replace a damaged transformer serving the area.
Speaking to FrontPageAfrica Sunday December 9, the business owners expressed dissatisfaction in the failure of the LEC management to remove or replace the damaged transformer.
According to them, they have engaged the LEC on numerous occasions since the transformer burnt some months ago but there has been no respond from the management.
Many of them who spoke to this paper said their businesses have slowed down since the transformer got damaged. They say the absence of electricity is affecting their businesses.
They are, at the same time, accusing the LEC of encouraging power theft in the country.
According to them, LEC ignores issues confronting its customers while also blasting the company’s method of connecting customers to the power grid. They termed the situation as a factor contributing to power theft.
“We are calling on the managing director of LEC and its entire team to please come here in Red Light and see reason to change this transformer, so our people will get current. Peacefully we are asking the corporation to come and remove this threat over our people,” said Sampson B. Yeebah, Manager of modern photo studio.
“The power theft that is in Red Light derives from the LEC management because if you choose to connect one business entity out of hundred businesses, the others will have to pass through that person to get the current. In that way, you will be putting more load on the transformer.”
Expressing his discontentment also, Amos T. Tengbeh, owner of the Famous Bakery situated in Red Light, described the damaged transformer as critical and needs to be addressed immediately by the relevant authority before it gets out of hand.
He said customers who have already paid to be connected prior to the damage of the transformer are finding it difficult to maintain their business.
“In an industrial area like Red Light where we have enough of Liberian entrepreneurs, who use current to do their work. In this light, people had gone to banks for loan to do their work depending on the LEC current to run their various businesses just to find out that they cannot receive the current because of the transformer that was burnt some time ago. It is now serving as a death trap and you know this place is densely populated,” he said.
“So, we are calling on the senator of this county and the President as well to see how best they can help the entrepreneurs of Liberia, because we are the ones helping the country because one business person can employ up to four to five Liberians, so they should come to our aid. LEC should also come and change this transformer and the pole as well so we can be able to carry on our business.”
Another businessman Jalloh Mohammed described the damaged LEC transformer as an “age-old problem” in Red Light.
Mohammed said his business is partially crumbling due to the lack of national electricity, which he had relied upon.
“Whenever we call the LEC people they will tell us to pay money which we had been doing for a very long time now, but this recent one has taken a very long time to fix,” Mohammed said.
“Right now, my meat I am selling in my shop will all spoil if there is no current. The generator I have is too small so only the LEC current I depend on. But as things stand right now I just need to find another alternative before my business go down.”
Raul Kollie, a water producer in the area, accuses the LEC management of paying death ear regarding the damaged transformer.
Kollie, like most business people in Liberia’s largest commercial district, is calling on the power company to replace the transformer as a means of addressing the current electricity problem in the area.