Kept in the dark

[DJKeefy]

By Ramadan A. Kader - The Egyptian Gazette

Every time I step into a lift, I pray to God that I will reach my destination safely. I am not claustrophobic. I am just worried that a sudden power cut, the likes of which are frequent nowadays in Egypt, will leave me trapped inside a metal box for endless hours.

The other day, I was lucky because the lights went out a few seconds before I stepped into the lift to take me to my sixth-floor flat. It was minutes before iftar (the fast-breaking meal) and I had to trudge all the way up the stairs, depending on the feeble light from my mobile phone. With my poor eyesight, I faltered several times. Having eventually made it safely home, I was drenched in sweat. The family had to settle for a candlelit iftar meal amid grumbling from the children.

For the past few weeks, Egypt has been hit by unprecedented power outages. In my northern Cairo district, the power is cut on a daily basis for at least one hour, leaving residents sweltering in high temperatures.

As far as I know, no area in Egypt, poor or fashionable, has been spared this niggling problem, which seems, bizarrely, to respect social justice. There is no clear explanation for the widespread power outages, which have coincided with the holy month of Ramadan when devout Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn till dusk. This year’s fasting in Ramadan is the longest in more than 30 years, exceeding 15 hours every day.

In the absence of an official explanation, conspiracy theories have abounded. Their proponents claim that, with the Islamists now ruling Egypt, they deliberately cut the electricity to discourage people from watching too many TV shows. To corroborate their argument, the conspiracy theorists cite a recent statement from the Supreme Guide of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badei, who slammed TV soap operas, shown during Ramadan, saying they distract Muslims from performing their prayers and “promoting piety”. Some other conspiracy theorists allege that the electricity service is being “intentionally" disrupted by Mubarak loyalists, disparagingly called the feloul (remnants), to dent Islamist President Mohammed Morsi’s image. Other people blame the power blackout on Egypt’s electricity supplies to other countries.

Whatever the cause, the Government’s handling of the crisis is disappointing. It has not told the public what is wrong; nor has it said why it did not brace itself beforehand, bearing in mind that power consumption always soars in summer, because of the heat. This sloppy approach is exacerbating the security breakdown, from which Egypt has been suffering for more than 17 months now. Angry people around the nation have repeatedly taken to the streets to protest power outages, blocking main roads and besieging police stations, as well as other State buildings.

Businesses have, meanwhile, reported heavy losses due to a lack of electricity. The newly appointed Electricity Minister, Mahmoud Balbaa, has promised that the problem will be solved in a matter of days. Hopefully, he will keep his promise. If not, his Government will have to expand its long-maintained ration system to cover candles and torches too.