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Claim: “Every year, we give the Ivorian government $9m to supply us power,” Byron Byron writes on his official Facebook page.
Verdict: This claim is misleading! Research on national budgets contradicts it. Government allocations for CLSG from 2022 to 2024 are significantly lower. Furthermore, Byron failed to provide evidence to support his claim of an annual payment of $9 million.
Full Text
As Liberia grapples with ongoing power supply challenges, the government, through the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), has faced intense public criticism, with some accusing it of financial mismanagement and wasteful spending.
The immediate crisis in Liberia’s electricity supply began when Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Électricité (CIE), Ivory Coast’s electricity provider, disconnected the CLSG power line owing to an outstanding debt of $19.6 million.
The Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) reported that the power supply from the CIE to LEC was reduced from 50 MW to 7.5 MW until further notice.
In response to this situation, Facebook commentator Byron Byron accused the government of paying $9 million annually to the Ivorian government for electricity, implying that the money could be better utilised for infrastructure investment, such as securing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to construct a hydroelectric dam.
“No priority, so we keep trekking on the path of trial and error,” he stated.
Given the significant public interest in this issue, DUBAWA conducted an independent verification to determine whether Liberia paid $9 million annually for power from the Ivory Coast.
Verification
An investigation of Liberia’s national budget, particularly the expenditure records for the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), on page ‘375’ and the budget line “0810” revealed the following:
2022:
No recorded government expenditure for CLSG.
2023:
CLSG allocation stood at $41,200,000.
2024:
The budget allocation for CLSG is $3,000,000.
2025:
The projected CLSG allocation is $2,400,000.
These figures contradict Byron’s claim of an annual payment of $ 9 million.
Additionally, before cutting off Liberia’s power supply, the CIE issued multiple warnings about unpaid debts. As of June 2024, Liberia’s outstanding electricity debt to Ivory Coast was $19,691,647. This raises doubts about the government’s claim that it has paid $9 million annually.
Conclusion
Byron’s claim is misleading based on an analysis of official budget records and factual evidence. The actual financial commitments made by the government to power supply do not support the assertion that Liberia pays $9 million per year to the Ivory Coast.
