Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel D. Tweah has clarified that the Liberian government is in good standing with the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) contrary to report of being indebted to the company.
“Let me state this for record; government does not owe LEC a cent. We are in good standing financially with them, and it will interest you to note that it is the LEC that is owes the government US$22 million,” Minister Tweah clarified.
His clarification came as a result of report that the Liberian government was heavily indebted to the LEC; something which is somehow seriously affecting the smooth operation of the corporation through the distribution of stable electricity across the country.
Addressing a special press briefing on Friday at a the Ministry of Information in Monrovia, Finance Minister among other things stressed that government has now decided to suspend the collection of the US$2 million from the LEC due to the institution’s low revenue which he attributed to power theft.
“Government cannot and will not collect such an amount from the LEC until their revenue can increase because power theft in this country is an act that has seriously derailed the resource mobilization arm of the country’s own main power-providing institution,” the MFDP’s boss emphasized.
According to him, the Corporation is not giving the Government of Liberia goods and services tax, on grounds that the money citizens pay goes straight to LEC revenue and not the government.
He pointed out that there is urgent need for government to solve the power theft issues if LEC is supposed to receive US$1 million, or else, the Corporation will lose US$500,000 due to power theft.
Minister Tweah further intoned that the Liberian government and the LEC are going to work closely in order to make the laws against power theft more proactive, noting that no government official or citizen should engage in power theft or try to interfere with the work of the LEC because the country and the Corporation need to generate revenue from power.
“We are going to come down hard on those that will be involved in power theft, and I can assure all Liberians that the LEC has enough meters in the country and there is no need to steal current,” he warned.
Minister Tweah then cautioned the media community to set higher editorial standards aimed at verifying information before publication.
He said it is incumbent upon journalists to always verify news contents and statements from newsmakers before reporting to the public, because whatever the media puts out, the public tends to believe it to the letter.
According to Tweah, factual, adequate and balanced reporting is cardinal in professional journalism, no matter the alignment of the journalist and as such, Liberian journalists should be more professional in the discharge of their duties as means of respecting and protecting the standard of journalism.