Sierra Leone's energy minister resigned on Friday, according to the Office of the President, against the backdrop of the country's recent electricity supply disruptions.
The reasons for Alhaji Kanja Sesay's resignation were not officially explained, and the Ministry of Energy did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
The ministry…
Sierra Leone's energy minister resigned on Friday, according to the Office of the President, against the backdrop of the country's recent electricity supply disruptions.
The reasons for Alhaji Kanja Sesay's resignation were not officially explained, and the Ministry of Energy did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
The ministry will be under the direct supervision of President Julius Maada Bio and assisted by two other officials, according to a presidential press release sent to AFP on Friday night.
Sesay's resignation came hours after the government paid a total of $18.5 million to two power companies, Turkish Calpowership and Transco CLSG Group.
Sierra Leone owes the two producers a total of $40 million.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
It was not immediately clear whether Sesay's resignation was related to the payment.
After two months of power outages, electricity was restored in Freetown after the payment was announced, an AFP reporter said.
Karpowership has been supplying power to Sierra Leone from floating offshore units since 2018, but had cut its capacity from 65 megawatts to just 5 megawatts in recent months due to payment issues.
Advertisement – SCROLL TO CONTINUE
“We are pleased to confirm that Freetown's electricity supply is back to full operation,” the Turkish group said in a statement after the latest payments were announced.
sb-mrb/am/smw/bc