After losing US$35M yearlyPresident George Weah on Tuesday, April 30, 2019, submitted for enactment into law a bill to amend the Penal Law, Chapter 15, by adding thereto a new section 15.88 to provide for Power Theft to be considered a crime that sabotages country’s development. President Weah reminded the lawmakers in his communication that power theft damages the country’s economic development, “and is a crime akin to sabotaging the economy, it destroys life and property when dangerous when illegal connections are made, sometimes causing fire outbreak.”Weah furthered that the high cost of electricity is also a direct result of massive power theft in the country, noting, “There have been demonstrations in so many communities where transformers are overloaded by illegal customers due to power theft.”He added, “Statistics show that 10 percent of power theft will cost the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) US$8 million today, because of the increase in illegal connections, which the LEC is losing in excess of US$35 million per year to electricity theft. The bill, sponsored by Grand Kru County Peter Coleman was sent to the relevant committees and, due to “the importance attached to it,” were requested to report to plenary within a week from Tuesday, April 20, 2019. “As good as the bill appears to be, the major problem will be government’s ability and/or willingness to implement punishment for illegal connectors, as most culprits are from either the vote rich slum communities, or even some big names within the LEC system itself,” a former LEC top brass told our reporter. The source added that the illegal connections have now become “a very lucrative business in Monrovia, involving foreign nationals, some of them illegal residents.”

Source: Daily Observer May 01, 2019 02:37 UTC