When power burns: How SLPP’s energy mismanagement is setting Sierra Leone on fire

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 16 April 2025:

In the early hours of Sunday morning, thick smoke rose above State House, Sierra Leone’s most secure address, as flames tore through the third and fourth floors of the building. Gutted were the Finance and Records Departments, the Office of the Press Secretary, and the office of Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, the President’s adviser on energy, food security, and climate change.

The Fire Force Agency confirmed what many feared, the inferno was triggered by an electrical surge.

It is both tragic and ironic that the office charged with advising on energy would fall victim to the very crisis it is meant to solve. But perhaps more disturbing is the broader metaphor the fire represents: a nation consumed by the flames of policy failure, partisan arrogance, and dangerous neglect.

Power Out of Control

Electricity, once a promise of modernity and economic growth, has morphed into a public hazard. Under the current SLPP government, it is no longer a utility that empowers but a force that kills, destroys, and traumatizes.

Dr Ibrahim Bangura, a prominent main opposition All Peoples Congress flagbearer aspirant, lamented the string of fire accidents across the country from the charred State House to the burnt children’s ward in Makeni, to the harrowing burning alive of an Indian businessman in his home and business place in Waterloo and counters fires elsewhere. Bangura said that it is clear that the problem is systemic and increasingly catastrophic.

Electric surges, voltage instability, and poor safety infrastructure have turned homes into kindling and hospitals into ash. And if the State House, the very command center of national leadership, cannot protect itself, what hope is there for an ordinary home in Kenema or a shop in Lumley?

Heroes in the Line of Fire

In the midst of this chaos, we must pause to commend the remarkable bravery and resilience of our firefighters and first responders. These men and women continue to risk their lives daily in a system that barely acknowledges their worth.

Armed with obsolete equipment, minimal training, and woefully inadequate funding, they do what they can with what little they have yet, they show up. In yesterday’s State House fire and the many tragedies before it, they have acted with courage and composure. Their sacrifice is a testament to the resilience of Sierra Leoneans, even as their government leaves them exposed and unsupported.

Billions Lost, But the People Still in the Dark

Since 2018, the SLPP administration has announced—and in many cases secured—significant funding for energy sector projects. Notable among these are:

• The CLSG Interconnection Project, aimed at importing electricity from Côte d’Ivoire, with over $60 million in support from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
• The Rural Electrification Project backed by the Chinese government and other partners, worth over $40 million, promising solar mini-grids across several districts.
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program, providing $44 million to improve governance in the electricity sector and prepare it for private investment.
• The Western Area Power Generation Project, with millions in loans from EXIM Bank of India and other bilateral agencies.

In total, the SLPP government has received or earmarked over $200 million for energy reforms and projects since taking office. Yet, five years on, the impact is almost invisible. Electricity remains unstable, supply is erratic, and infrastructure is vulnerable.

There is no reliable national grid expansion, no substantial reduction in blackouts, and—most damningly—no improvement in public safety.

The Cost of Political Ego

What makes this failure even more inexcusable is that the SLPP inherited a functioning energy foundation from the APC government under President Ernest Bai Koroma. From Bumbuna II’s groundwork, to thermal plant installations in Freetown and Bo, to regional rural electrification frameworks, the APC administration had set the stage for nationwide energy stability.

But rather than build upon what they met, the SLPP dismantled and deviated, choosing political ego over national interest. Contracts were frozen, programmes sidelined, and experienced personnel replaced. In the name of partisanship, they torched the path forward and now, literal fires consume the country.

The Fire Next Time: What Needs to Happen Now

To stop this downward spiral, Sierra Leone needs more than press statements and empty condemnations. It needs a decisive shift in how we view energy, governance, and public safety. Here’s what must be done immediately:

1. Conduct a Nationwide Electrical Safety Audit in all government buildings, hospitals, schools, and markets to prevent further disasters.
2. Revisit and Reinstate APC-Era Energy Projects, especially those with completed feasibility studies and secured funding.
3. Mandate the Use of Surge Protectors and Modern Wiring in all public facilities, and enforce strict compliance standards among energy providers.
4. Empower and Modernize the Fire Service, with increased budgetary allocation, modern equipment, training, and district-level rapid response teams.
5. Establish a National Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, with autonomy and the capacity to act swiftly in crises.
6. Invest in Renewable Micro-Grids for remote communities, reducing pressure on the national grid and improving energy resilience.

 Governance Is Not Guesswork

The fire at State House is not just a technical failure, it is a national indictment. It reveals the soft underbelly of a government that cannot protect its institutions, let alone its people. Governance is not guesswork. Leadership is not spectacle. And electricity is not a luxury, it is a lifeline.

The SLPP has had seven years, hundreds of millions of dollars, and every opportunity to improve the energy sector. Instead, we are left with darkness, danger, and ashes. The time for excuses has expired. Sierra Leone is burning—both literally and metaphorically. And unless we change course now, the next fire may not wait.