By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – Hundreds of households in the Somaliland capital city are in darkness after the Hargeisa Electricity Agency-HEA ceased supply.
The brown-outs have not only households but other important facilities that rely of supply from the HEA like government offices, Hospitals and schools among others.
now its full third day the power supply malady that is only affecting consumers supplied by the state owned Hargeisa Electricity Agency initially ensued a week ago with sporadic cuts sometimes lasting for hours that turned to full brown-out on Thursday.
According to the Managing director of HEA Ahmed Yasin Aw Mohamed Jama the initial outings were occasioned by the malfunction of two out of the three generators at the state city power supplier followed by the complete breakdown of services after the third generator went out of commission.
Meanwhile from Friday the Hargeisa group Hospital which is the country’s major public health facilities saw some patients being cratered away without Doctors discharge by worried relatives after gthe hospital reverted to use of its own generator due to lack of supply from HEA.
The on relatives authority discharges came after a number of services were due to irregular power supply, temporarily withdrawn among them laboratories, theatre, etc.
The beleaguered HEA which garnered a milestone after it broke ranks to become the first to have its MD appointed after public advertisement as opposed to norms where the office holder just like in other state bodies is a presidential or ministerial appointee.
Though the sitting top honcho at the HEA Ahmedyassin Aw Mohamed brought in a global experience after appointment by the Civil Service Commission, his tenure has not been a sail through and neither has his expertise and knowledge borne expected impact over a year since appointment.
Prior to assuming office the HEA was engulfed in a corruption controversy with its parent body the ministry of Public works and Housing that went as far as to have the head of state president Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo establish a high level ministerial committee charged with streamlining the agency.
Without mincing words what now most confounding is the reason which has led to the simultaneous malfunctioning of three generators at the Hargeisa Electricity Agency that is not only making profit but is government subsidized as well.
Meanwhile consumers of power supplied by HEA are now transferring their needs to the many based city power supplies that though charging double the HEA fees are more reliable.
