The headquarters of the North, Makeni, was known as “the New York of the North”. And this was as a result of the availability of uninterrupted power supply being enjoyed by residents of this provincial city.
At the peak of uninterrupted power supply, the longest time which every part of Makeni could experience power outage was a minute or two.
During routine maintenance either in the dries or rains, there was always a standby generator that could supply electricity by load shedding. So, even in the midst of periodic maintenance, the people of Makeni used to enjoy electricity supply, at most, 12 hours per day.
A dazzling and eye-popping city that hadn’t slept in 8 years (2010 – 2018) is now in deep slumber and saw logs.
Many businesses, especially those trading in food and drinks, are virtually closed. A good number of people are now out of business; and level of dependency and poverty keeps increasing daily.
The non-availability of electricity supply, added to fuel shortage in Makeni, are twin problems that have gripped the economy of this city firmly.
The ripple effects of these essential service and commodity are: disruption of normal businesses, heightening poverty rate, temporarily paralysing socioeconomic activities and transportation within and out of Makeni.
Also, an alarming effect of this “Catch 22” situation has been high inflation on certain essential goods and services. For instance, a sachet of chilly water is now sold at NLe 1. For a liter of petrol at the black market is currently around NLe 40 to 45.
What a sad state of affairs!
Sustainability is a watchword in today’s development. Therefore, every project, either physical infrastructure or economic infrastructure, that cannot be sustained by any government is a political sham.
To rationally defend a government either past or current, the following questions must require genuine answers:
- What has happened to inflation since my political party takes over governance?
- Has corruption been drastically reduced to a minimal proportion?
- Has the rule of law been implemented impartially?
- What about our social and economic infrastructures-are they functioning effectively?
- What has happened to unemployment and poverty?
If all or most of these development indicators are addressed by your political party in power, it’s your responsibility to defend, protect and sustain these gains.