FaceLiberia has confirmed that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bhofal Chambers, and several others in the Rehab Community in Paynesville, outside of Monrovia, were impacted by an operation meant to combat power theft and raise necessary funds for the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).

The LEC was established in 1973 as a public utility with the primary goal of producing and supplying affordable and dependable electricity to the entire country while preserving the corporation's financial stability.

The accountability for enhancing and enlarging the system to accommodate future expansion is inherent in this task. In order to meet Liberia's growing need for electricity as well as act as a catalyst for socioeconomic development, LEC now has the duty of guaranteeing that there is a supply of dependable, affordable, and efficient electricity.
However, due to limited logistical, financial, and technical assistance as well as power theft, the corporation continues to struggle to effectively and efficiently carry out its statutory duty and responsibilities.
The LEC Anti-Power Theft Taskforce was founded by the government on November 9 in an effort to battle the issue and stop the unauthorized connections and supply of electricity in the capital.

Madam Broh is a co-chair of the task force. When she served as Director and Mayor of Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), respectively, she was known as "General Broh" among the populace and the immediate past and present governments due to her workaholic tendencies and desire to "strengthen up things."

At the launch, LEC's Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Monie Captan, said that the company loses US$48 Million per year to power theft.

He claims that the loss amounts to about half of the annual revenue produced by the business.

Madam Broh has been leading the team in several localities in accordance with her mandate, disconnecting and fining people and businesses that are improperly connected or given "by passing" meters.

The Taskforce increased its operations at the Rehab Community in Paynesville, outside of Monrovia, on Saturday, November 19, disconnecting residences, businesses, including stores and hotels, for being connected improperly directly without utilizing any meters.

Also located in the Rehab Community is President George Manneh Weah's residence.

One of the Taskforce's leaders, Adolphus Scott, reported that 22 companies, 83 homes, and two hotels were among the 105 structures that were improperly connected "on direct."

In order to avoid paying any electricity bills at all or to pay less for the massive amounts of energy being used at their different locations, customers who connect on direct "by-pass" LEC distributed meters.

The 83 households reportedly included Speaker Chambers' and Unity Party Chairman Luther Tarpeh's residences.

He added that the crew had also discovered and disconnected a full two phase configuration on direct with high consumption.

The Taskforce disconnected the 105 houses and businesses in the Rehab Community in less than 48 hours.

In particular, Scott advised people near the Monrovia Consolidation System (MCS) or grid networks to stay away from providing money to LEC employees or other people riding about on motorcycles to gather people to pay for power or meters.

He claimed that the only locations where funds are being collected for the connection of homes and businesses are the Taskforce offices on Duport Road and Waterside, respectively.

Scott said, "Any money you will be donating, you will be giving at your own risk if you do not pay at Duport Road Baptist Field or Waterside."

He advised customers who have already paid for energy but have not yet been connected to do it at the Taskforce offices rather than through an unauthorized direct connection.

Scott highlighted that the Taskforce will "speed rush" the procedure through Madam Broh in order to make sure that customers who have already paid or want to acquire electricity are connected as soon as possible.

"If you have problems, come and talk about them; you don't want the team to show up at the last minute, and you want a fix."

Meters were tampered with at some of the disconnected locations, making it difficult for them to function correctly or display the entire amount of electricity used.

Those who were disconnected must return to the company in order to be reconnected, according to Madam Broh.

She said that while the Taskforce would keep working and treating everyone with respect, regardless of their position, those who disobeyed orders and acted uncooperatively would face legal consequences.

"Those who follow us will pay the cost; they will serve time in prison."

Confiscated Wires

The Taskforce is seizing wires and other items used to connect these residences and businesses unlawfully.

Due to the poor capacity of the pickups being employed by the organization, the enormous volumes of wires confiscated are brought to the LEC's substations over the course of multiple journeys.

During the activities over the weekend, three pickup trucks full of high-tension cables were taken from Rehab Community alone.

Arrests

Only a few people are being detained for alleged "misbehavior and reconnecting houses and businesses" after the Taskforce had previously disconnected them.

Those using dangerous weapons to attack Taskforce members are detained and handcuffed.

Madam Broh swore to make sure that anyone impeding the team's job while it was operating in the various areas would be put behind bars.

Disconnecting Pastors and Churches

Madam Broh continued by saying that since taking on the task, she and her staff had disconnected a number of churches and pastors' residences.

She vowed to keep up the pressure on religious institutions to follow the law when getting their meters in order to connect to the grids.

"I have cut off ties with pastors and churches because they are not acting morally. For those of you who practice prayer, you must act morally on your own since it will ultimately save you.

Lawmakers, others

Eminent persons like legislators and other public figures, doctors, and lawyers are among those "bypassing" meters and becoming disconnected, according to Madam Broh.

But she didn't feel confident enough to mention a specific person's name.

"We unplugged 103 houses in Rehab yesterday, and some of them were my friends; some were lawyers and physicians for lawmakers; they remain there. You claim that you attended to school and that you went there to accomplish what is right; nevertheless, since you are earning money, particularly if you are a doctor, lawyer, or legislator, you want to bypass the current.

Despite making fun with some of these public officials who typically turn up to get their lines restored after being cut off by the Taskforce, she continued, these public officials are also required to pay fines.

"You'll pay your fine right there, on the spot. I don't care if you're a government representative; we need to act morally. Some folks are stealing electricity while they have 17 units.

The perpetrators of electricity theft should refrain from "bypassing" the meters that will be sent to them, Madam Broh underlined, even if she won't point fingers at or identify anyone involved in the crime.

Put politics aside

The Taskforce's operations should not be politicized, Madam Broh cautioned FrontPage Africa over the phone on Sunday, November 20.

"You politicize it when I talk about it and take the current. They have been acting in this manner. I dislike that they sought to earn prominence.

She claimed that holding news conferences against her for checkmating and prosecuting them for power theft by foreigners and others was absurd.

Madam Broh swore to fulfill her mandate fearlessly and impartially in the future.

"I immediately gave you notice and disconnected you. In the past two days, we have disconnected more over 200 homes and businesses in Rehab alone. We provide this standard service, but we also must reconnect those who have paid their fines.

Households and businesses that are improperly connected receive fine notices.

Depending on how much electricity is used, fines ranging from $100 to $1000 are assessed.

After being reconnected, people who "by passing meters for the second time" will be imprisoned by the Taskforce, according to Madam Broh.

She used this platform to exhort Liberians to show respect and patriotism for one another.

No family or friends

"Neither my friends nor my family work here. I don't employ them," said Madam Broh.

She claimed that rather than carrying out her duties to "show off," she would do so in order to assist the government in bringing in legal cash.

Because the LEC first failed to contact its clients in a timely manner, she blamed the rising levels of power theft on the citizens' intense displeasure.

Despite the circumstances, according to Madam Broh, people do not have the right to steal electricity because of the delay.

People have brought letters they wrote, so we are attempting to make amends.

However, she described the laborious process involved in disconnecting residences, companies, and other structures that are erroneously connected to LEC systems.

She called the Taskforce's technicians and electricians "heroes" in the fight against power theft and urged them to keep doing their outstanding job because they will be rewarded.

"At this point, I'd want to express my gratitude to the GSA and LEC management teams for their outstanding work over the course of our collaboration.

Why is there a rise in electricity theft?

Power theft in Liberia is on the rise in part due to the LEC officials' slow response time in supplying meters to clients.

Another long-standing issue the agency faces is how to quickly repair damaged transformers.

Residents of numerous towns are frequently forced to raise money in order to update their meters or connect to electric grids.

These consumers were forced to connect illegally with their friends, family, or neighbors who have access to power due to the LEC's protracted delay in providing service to them.

Customers who are anxious to have electricity in their homes or business centers continue to become frustrated due to a lack of faith and confidence in the company to act quickly when monies are provided. In most villages in Monrovia and other locations, the relocation continues to overload and harm transformers.

The residents are hesitant and wary about paying money to their local leaders to pay for new meters or the reconnecting of transformers.

They occasionally charged their local leaders with conspiring with some LEC employees to defraud them of their laboriously earned money.

The task force has disconnected electricity from more than 600 homes and businesses since it began operating.

Customers and business owners alike have flocked to get their meters and connections officially. The norm in the post-conflict country is still "direct connection," which deters people from paying valid electricity bills.