Page 11 - AfrElec Week 36 2022
P. 11
AfrElec STRIKES AfrElec
Nigerian electric workers
threaten slowdown over
sector failures
NIGERIAN electricity workers have threatened Electricity Employees revealed that it would
NIGERIA a work slowdown in protest against the problems attempt to take control of the sector away from
that have hit the country since the sector was pri- the “clutches of the hustlers” and dubbed the pri-
vatised in 2013. vatisation process as a “charade”.
The Nigerian power sector experienced tur- In a statement, union official Temple Iworima
moil over the past nine years, with local com- also claimed that the sector had remained
panies struggling to reliably provide power dormant since 2013, and claimed that compa-
to the nation and failing to turn a profit. Some nies were taking advantage of Nigerians.
distribution and generation companies have “It is an undeniable truth that the Power Sec-
subsequently been renationalised due to large tor privatisation has not added value to the lives
outstanding debts. of the ordinary Nigerians. The entire exercise
As things stand, Nigeria is failing to use its which could be described as a charade has not
entire generation capacity, meaning there is brought any meaningful impact/improvement
constant low per-capita megawatt electricity of the Sector, rather, it has led the Nation to a
production. huge setback,” she said.
On September 6, the National Union of
Sudan electricity workers
end strike, await
government response
SUDAN EMPLOYEES working in Sudan’s electricity sec- Energy Minister Mohamed Abdallah prom-
tor have ended their two-day strike on Wednes- ised to consider the employees’ demands but
day, September 7 with no practical steps taken did not guarantee fulfillment, according to a
from the government to meet their demands statement by the Committee for the Electricity
of wage rises, the daily news portal Dabanga Workers Salary Structure, which also described
reported. the minister’s words as procrastination.
On Tuesday, September 5, the employees in The failure of the government to implement
the electricity sector across the capital Khar- the new salary structure has resulted in several
toum, Red Sea state, North Kordofan, South protests across Sudan. Electricity blackouts are
Kordofan and Northern State started the strike, frequent across the North African country, with
accusing the energy and oil minister of not ful- many rural areas completely without any power
filling its promise of implementing the 2022 new supply.
salary structure and demanding quick decisions
to help them face skyrocketing inflation.
Week 36 08•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
