Privatizing EDSA in Sierra Leone: Fix or Deferred Accountability?

CD, a leadership practitioner with 25+ years in Fortune 500 and U.S. federal government roles and a current doctoral researcher, analyzes Sierra Leone’s April 7, 2026, announcement that EDSA’s operations will be privatized by end of 2026 while not being sold. She frames EDSA’s crisis: about 70MW produced versus ~200MW demand, only 36% national electricity access (under 5% in some rural areas), and 55–72% revenue losses from technical failures, theft, illegal connections, and collusion, forcing businesses, hospitals, and students to rely on generators or candles. CD argues privatization changes operators but not necessarily culture, citing Nigeria’s 2013 privatization with limited improvement. She proposes five non-negotiables: strong independent regulation, legally binding performance targets, culture and anti-collusion reforms, protections for low-income households, and transparency, plus leadership lessons on pairing structural and cultural change, avoiding deferred accountability, and measuring success by people served.

00:00 Welcome to CD
00:45 Why Sierra Leone
01:19 Privatization Announcement
02:20 EDSA Reality Check
04:30 Human Cost of Failure
05:43 Is Privatization the Fix
06:26 Research Point One Culture
08:12 Research Point Two Nigeria
10:01 Research Point Three Accountability
11:47 What the Announcement Misses
13:14 Five Non Negotiables
18:15 Lessons for Leaders
20:24 Closing Human Story
22:30 Final Call to Action