Electricity restored two weeks after power station fire

Electricity has been restored to the capital of Guinea-Bissau two weeks after a fire badly damaged the main switch board of the the city's only power station. Wasna Papai Danfa, the director general of the state run electricity and water company EAGB, told the private radio station Radio Bombolom on Monday night that regular supplies of electricity and water to the city of Bissau could now be maintained. EAGB relies on electric pumps to fill the overhead tanks that feed the city's taps by gravity. The fire on 16 December interrupted electricity and water supplies only a month after they had been normalised by the transitional government of President Henrique Rosa, which came to power after a bloodless coup on 14 September. The government, which inherited a virtually empty treasury, is still having difficulty paying civil servants on time and has yet to pay nearly a year of salary arrears owed to government employees. However, the EAGB staff were encouraged to repair the power station damage quickly by local companies and individuals who donated food to them after the accident, particularly rice, oil and sugar. Rosa also reminded EAGB staff during a visit to the damaged power station that the World Bank had promised to make substantial investments in the power sector following parliamentary elections scheduled for March 28. The electricity supply in Bissau has been restored gradually over the past few days. By Tuesday, power had been restored to all homes with electricity, but there was still no street lighting.