SABCO Fishing Company operating from Jui in the Western Rural District has challenged the Electricity Distribution and Sales Authority (EDSA) to come up with concrete evidence to back their claim that the company is illegally using electricity power.
In a newspaper report of Friday May 31, management of the company denied any involvement in electricity theft, saying the discovery of a blank metre alleged to be an illegal distribution point was not enough to rope the company in as a culprit.
The report vehemently distanced SABCO from such accusation, and said the company was waiting to see further action from EDSA to prove that the metre they allegedly discovered during an inspection exercise this week was deliberately installed for the purpose of stealing electricity.
They say they want the evidence, and they will explain to EDSA everything from their own side as a responsible company. SABCO, the report went on, was established in Bo, southern Sierra Leone but decided to invest in the fishing industry in the Western Region and especially in sardine production in response to the call by His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio to add value to the country’s fish products in line with his government’s Feed Salone priority agenda.
It is said that the sardine industry in Jui is the first in West Africa. With the challenge thrown, the public awaits the reaction of EDSA to prove whether their claim against SABCO is legitimate.
In their poise to crackdown on illegal connections and to bring to book individuals and institutions engaged in electricity theft, staff of EDSA are out on unannounced visits to locations and premises suspected to be consuming bulk electricity through illegal connections.
Illegal connections and unpaid use of electricity is a crime punishable by law. The National Electricity Act of 2011 gives the power to EDSA to prosecute those caught in the illegal act. The fine of Le. 50, 000 is levied If found guilty or a jail term.
