Deputy Minister of Energy l, Dr. Eldred Taylor, on Saturday July 27, 2024, took pressmen on a tour at the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Dam in Bumbuna Town, Tonkolili District, to enable them have a firsthand assessment of the man-made environmental challenges that have adversely affected water levels and reduced the capacity of the dam to produce adequate power.
Welcoming the Deputy Minister, the Director-General of EDSA, the Deputy-Director General of EGTC, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and the pressmen, the Honourable Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Jaward Sesay said his community was pleased to host such a high-powered delegation.
He spoke about the strategic significance of Bumbuna in the energy matrix of Sierra Leone, noting that he had taken up the concerns of his people with different stakeholders. He thanked the visiting team and urged them to take steps to address the concerns of his people.
Talking about the purpose of the tour, Dr. Taylor said they had taken pressmen to the facility so that they will be in the position to give a journalistic eyewitness account of the lay of the land at Bumbuna.
“The Bumbuna Hydroelectric Dam is an important national asset that takes care of power production for Makeni, Magburaka, and Bumbuna, with the bulk of the power meant for Freetown.
“What we have however observed is that the dam is challenged simply because there is a considerable drop in the water levels. As at this time last year, the dam was producing well over 35MW which sharply contrasts with the below 15MW that it is currently producing. This is a big concern for us as asector,” he said.
He spoke about factors such as deforestation and mining which he said had become persistent particularly in the upstream but promised that his Ministry will take up the issues with the Ministries of Mines and Environment at an inter-ministerial level.
On the margins of the tour, Dr. Taylor addressed the community stakeholders and people where he assured them that President Julius Maada Bio was committed to genuinely seeking their welfare through a variety of transformative social programs.
He warned them against engaging in acts of deforestation and unbridled mining in their respective communities.
Director General at EDSA, Dr. Joe Lahai, said EDSA was tasked with the assignment of distributing electricity.
He said he had heard the collective cry of the community for a bigger transformer and assured that, on his return to Freetown, he will dispatch a team of engineers to the area.
Dr. Lahai spoke about the tariff structure, noting that his institution does not charge tariffs to make profit. He urged them to desist from those activities that have led to a drop in water levels.
Daniel Sara Turay, a senior stakeholder in the community, catalogued the many concerns of his people.
With the energy sector and the Feed Salone agenda being inextricably linked, reforms continue in the sector.
Credit: Austine Luseni, Communications Specialist, Ministry of Energy