The most recent of these incidents occurred at kilometer 36 of the line that transports electricity from the Cambambe substation, in the province of Kwanza Norte, to Viana, in Luanda; where a 400-kilovolt high tension tower collapsed due to the theft of elements of its structure.

In this regard, the Minister of State and head of the President’s Military Household, Francisco Furtado, considered the day before that these were selective sabotage actions that should be categorized as terrorism.

He assured that the National Security and Defense Forces “will fight hard to neutralize the groups that are creating situations of instability, to make the country’s development unviable”. He said, “They are currently monitoring indications that will be presented in due time”.

The Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, in declarations to Angola Public Television on the subject, said that the situation is worrying because of the frequency with which these damages occur to the electricity transmission network from the dams to the distribution centers.

He said that these are not simple robberies and urged the population to collaborate in denouncing the acts and the perpetrators.

He pointed out that the national electricity transmission network has more than 5,500 kilometers of lines throughout the country and there is no capacity to ensure the surveillance of all the towers, also because the problem is not only limited to the province of Luanda but also to Benguela, Huambo and Zaire.

These thefts cost millions of dollars extra to replace the poles, but above all, there is a risk of leaving the cities in the dark, in addition to affecting numerous economic entities.

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