No hope of Kolamaafushi power supply issues being resolved: Council

Power supply issues in Kolamaafushi island of Gaafu Alif atoll will likely not be resolved, the island’s local government council has said.

Adnan Hassan, vice president of the Council, spoke to RaajjeMV on Tuesday night and said that the island has been experiencing power outages as often as every two days, for the past three months.

The entire island had experienced a power outage that lasted half an hour on Tuesday night as well, and residents have been expressing concern about the supply issues persisting through the upcoming month of Ramadan, Hassan said.

Frequent power outages in the outlying islands has been a point of policy for a number of previous governments, and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has pledged to ensure ‘access to basic facilities’, which includes consistent power supply and sanitation systems, by the end of his tenure.

The state-run FENAKA Corporation provides electricity to inhabited islands across the Maldives, and has power houses in 186 islands.

Ahmed Saeed, managing director of the company, told a People’s Majlis committee in March that current problems with access to electricity in the islands will take three years to resolve.

In the past four years, the company has been marred with accusations of mismanagement, and has been investigated by the state corruption watchdog over its oil acquisition.

The company’s management has on multiple occasions been accused of coercing employees to support activities organised by former president Yameen’s party.

Management shifted after President Yameen was ousted through the ballot box last year, and in late December, Saeed replaced director Mohamed Lam’aan, also a vocal supporter of the then president.