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Senegal: Religious Leaders Want Electric Bills Boycott

  1. Posted on Saturday 31 July 2010 - 15:25
    Mforgham
    Image of Mforgham
    Solomon Tembang Mforgham

    Some religious leaders in Senegal are calling for a boycott of electric bills as residents experience the worst power cuts in decades.

    The Voice of America reports that they have told residents to withhold payment of their energy bills until at least 17 August.

    Protests have already been waged this year against the government-controlled energy provider, Senelec. Earlier this month, 29-year-old Abdoulaye Yinghou was killed during a demonstration in the Bene Barack district on the outskirts of Dakar.

    VOA quotes Alioune Tine head of the Dakar-based African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights, RADDHO, as saying the issue is one that addresses basic economic, social and cultural rights.

    Tine said the biggest worry is that basic human necessities, such as food, are being affected, because people cannot properly conserve food when electricity is constantly being cut off for long periods at a time. In addition, he added, workers such as tailors cannot work when the power to their machines is cut off.

    These compounded factors contribute to one of the most difficult situations the country has faced, Tine said.

    Bills are reportedly going up, but the electricity is constantly cut.

    Senegal’s Minister of Energy, Samual Sarr, has reportedly blamed the power outages on contaminated fuel. He said accidental use of the contaminated fuel had caused damage to engines. He has also promised a return to normalcy by mid-August.

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