Residents decry recurrent power blackouts in Masalani

Ijara,

Friday, December 22, 2023

KNA by Dahir Mohamed

Masalani town in Ijara Sub County, Garissa County has been hit by a serious power outage for the last two days affecting economic activity especially businesses.

Most affected are operations at garages, electronics shops, milk vendors, vegetable shops and security apparatus, exposing the county to external threat.

Residents point fingers at Kenya power Sub Station in Hola that is said to be notorious in switching off power in Masalani town making the residents suffer intermittent darkness.

Residents led by former Masalani retired Chief Adan Ali and other local leaders said the power outage is sabotage to economic activities in Masalani town and asked the KPLC officials to look into the causes and remedy the situation particularly during this festive season.

The leaders said it was unfair for Hola Sub Station to have 12,000 power connections in Hola while Masalani has 6,000 connections serving Ijara and Hulugho towns.

The leaders said it was a serious security risk to have the area in darkness saying since it was close to boni forest where al-Shabaab militant is believed to be operating from. 

They said the town has since turned into a ghost town because of darkness, with residents going to their homes by 6.00pm. 

KPLC engineer Silas Joseph promised resumption of power saying that boji area road was impassable making it difficult for KPLC engineers to access the faulty area. The company further called for patience saying the situation will be back to normal soon.

Ijara residents condemned Ijara leadership for not addressing intermittent power outages in Masalani town.

Courtesy; KNA