The military junta in Guinea on Sunday announced that the head of its national electricity company had been fired from his position after repeated power cuts sparked deadly protests in the military-ruled country.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that Laye Sekou Camara of Electricity in Guinea (EDG) was sacked along with his two deputies, Fode Soumah and Abdoulaye Kone, in a decree signed by junta chief General Mamady Doumbouya.
The managing director and deputy of Guinea’s national oil company were also dismissed in a separate decree.
“Those responsible for this situation (linked to the power cuts) owe us an explanation and everyone must take their share of responsibility,” Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah told the press on Saturday.
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The decision comes after two children, aged eight and 14, were shot dead amid violent protests on Tuesday in Kindia, 130 kilometres (80 miles) east of Conakry.
Africa Today News, New York reports that clashes also erupted between protesters and security forces in Conakry on Friday after a power cut plunged much of the capital into darkness.
In a statement, EDG said the blackout was the result of “an incident on a high-voltage pylon”.
Guinea, which is poor despite considerable mineral and natural resources, has endured decades of dictatorial rule and suffers from fuel shortages and power cuts.
In another report, substantial damage to no fewer three subsea cables off the West Coast of Africa on Thursday left internet services in Nigeria, Ghana and other countries across the continent in jeopardy, Africa Today News, New York reports.
Telecommunications subscribers and bank users were stranded for hours as the disruption practically paralysed digital transations and internet communications.
According to one of the world’s leading financial news organisations, Bloomberg, the West Africa Cable System, MainOne and ACE sea cables — arteries for telecommunications data — were all affected on Thursday.
According to data from internet analysis firms including NetBlocks, Kentik and Cloudflare, the cut triggered outages and connectivity issues for mobile operators and internet service providers across the West African sub-region.