Visiting five-man United States Congressional Delegation yesterday toured facilitates of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) following their arrival in the country on Sunday. The congressional delegation includes the head of the team Representative G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina; Gwen Moore of Wisconsin; Steven Cohen of Memphian; Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri and Bernice Johnson of Texas.

The tour was intended to give them an insight of the activities of the LEC and the challenges it is faced with. It gave them the chance to make a commitment to help the public corporation gets back on its feet. Speaking at the end of the tour, Rep. Butterfield gave an overview of the nature of the tour but went as far as saying that one mega watt is five times expensive far than it is in the US.

He has specific concerns about the cost of electricity, but said is it not the will and pressure of the Liberian government rather it is due to the usage of generation. Speaking during a short ceremony held in the conference room of the LEC compound Representative Butterfield indicated that the most important thing that the US needed to focus on infrastructures development, noting that the rehabilitation of electricity will help to reduce the high cost of the current.

He added that their visit was to pave the way for private investment into the country by and thru which Liberians will get to know the importance of their endowed resources. Responding to the Congressional Delegation, Acting Managing Director Joseph Mayiah said the corporation is currently indebted in the tone of US$30M since 1989. He blamed the indebtedness on war. He noted that corporation is in dire need of assistance to meet the demand of the growing population of the Monrovia.