Imams call for electricity bill boycott

Muslim imams in Senegal have called on their followers to not to pay their electricity bills in protest against frequent power outage. Power cuts in Senegal have resulted in anger and frustration in the streets of the capital, Dakar, where blackouts can last up to ten hours.

AFP

The debate over lack of regular electricity supply has taken a new dimension when a group of imams of Guediawaye, on the city’s outskirts, called on members of their mosques not to pay electricity bills for a month.

The decision of the Muslim preachers came following a consultative meeting with members of their communities over regular power cuts in the whole of Dakar.

Guediawaye is one of the areas most affected by power cuts. Over the past few months at least three major street protests were held in the area by angry youth who say the government of Abdoulaye Wade is neglecting the area.

Youssoupha Sarr, one of the Guediawaye imams, says his decision to call on his followers to boycott Senelec, the state-controlled electricity supplier, aims to bring the government’s attention to the plights of his community.

Last week, Energy Minister Samuel Sarr apologised for the power cuts during a forum with lawmakers in the House of Parliament. He promised that there would be regular electricity supply from 15 August onwards.

Imams and other religious leaders across Senegal have been speaking out against power cuts over the past years, but this is the first time that any of the groups called on their followers not to pay electricity bills.