Liberia: Senator Konneh Urges Boakai to Appoint Solid LEC Team

Gbarpolu County Senator Amara M. Konneh has urged President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to appoint a solid team at the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) in order to restore the instability of power.

The management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) continues to be under the spotlight for its inability to provide stable power supply to customers across Monrovia and its environs since the coming of President Boakai’s administration. The situation has been alarming since the end of January 2024, thereby raising serious concerns in various communities.

“It is disheartening and utterly despicable to see what is happening at LEC today. We should discard this culture of settling for mediocrity, which continues to hold back our country. The UP government that rebuilt the sector is back in power. President Boakai should appoint a solid new energy team. The donors don’t own the sector or the infrastructure. Liberia owns it,” Konneh said.

Konneh said with the current energy potential, President Boakai and his new energy and economic teams, supported by the legislature through strong oversight, must drive the economy from a single-shift (9-5 pm, 6 days a week) economy to a two-shift (8 am to midnight, 7 days a week) economy to put Liberians to work.

However, Presidential Press Secretary Kula V. Fofana has indicated that President Joseph N. Boakai is seriously concerned about the instability of electricity in the country. 

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Senator said he is prepared to debate the details since achieving this feat requires a multi-sectoral approach along the electricity-security-private sector nexus.

He expressed dismay at the lack of electricity recently while going through the Roberts International Airport.

“All the flight systems and air conditioning units were down. The terminal was so hot that passengers and airport employees were fanning themselves with whatever was in their hands. This is unacceptable!" Konneh said.

He recounted that eighteen years ago, Liberia had zero megawatts of grid power and absolutely no transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure, and the UP government declared it a national emergency.

“Today, it has about 200 megawatts of grid power. We have not only rebuilt the T&D infrastructure, but we have also expanded it to include regions of our country that were once disconnected from the national grid. I played a substantial role in these efforts because about 80 percent of the resources used to rebuild our energy sector were mobilized when I served as Minister of Finance and Development Planning, thanks to my team. But this isn’t about that,” he said.

Konneh indicated that Liberian people are suffering too much, and the government has the low-hanging potential to change our country’s current position as the 8th poorest country in the world, to alleviate some of the suffering our people are undergoing.

“We will achieve that only by mustering the political will to embrace competence over mediocrity. No one will do it for us. No amount of prayers and name-calling will change our position. Only leadership and hard work will cut it,” he said.

Konneh further expressed gratitude to Representative Taa Wongbe of Nimba County for calling the Legislature’s attention to the LEC mess and pledged his full support in the Upper House of the Legislature.