Sao Tome, May 27, 2026 (Lusa) - Sao Tome's Prime Minister refused on Tuesday to provide a new date for the resolution of the country's energy crisis, which has persisted for nearly a year, but the electricity company’s workers’ union admitted that in two weeks’ time there will be an improvement of around 90%.

“I prefer not to talk about timing, but I am certain that the [Power and Water Company] team is fully engaged in the work,” Américo Ramos told journalists at the end of a meeting lasting almost three hours with workers from the Power and Water Company (Emae).

He described it as a very productive meeting and reiterated that the energy issue is a cyclical problem requiring everyone’s involvement.

“Emae needs to be involved in repairing the machinery, engaging workers and managing resources effectively,” he said.

In April, following a meeting, the president of Sao Tome and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, convened, he announced that the energy crisis would be resolved in the first weeks of May, but gave no explanation as to what may have gone wrong to cause this latest forecast to be missed.

However, the president of the Emae Workers’ Union, Adélcio Costa, expressed his conviction that the situation will have stabilised within at least two weeks.

“We are certain that after this meeting the power supply will improve substantially […] 90% of the crisis will be resolved,” he said at the end of the workers’ meeting with the Prime Minister.

According to him, several generators that the government and Emae imported continue to experience frequent breakdowns, but technicians are working hard to resolve the issue.

"The solutions we have here are capable of resolving the energy problem […] things will improve, but we are not concerned with these superficial improvements."

"We want things to take longer because we cannot continue to subject the public to darkness. We are well into the 21st century," he said.

The workers have recommended that the government resume dialogue with the Turkish-owned company Tesla-STP to restore the operation of this company’s generators, which are currently shut down at a power station in the capital, or demand that the site be vacated and returned to the state, he added.

Furthermore, he said that legal action should be taken to hold members of the previous government, led by former Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, to account.

It was this government that signed the contract with the Turkish company, which included the dismantling of the old ‘Grande Água’ power station, where some of EMAE’s generators were operating; the fate of these generators is now uncertain.

Last week, Adélcio Costa emphasised that the contract with Tesla has become a problem for Sao Tome and Príncipe.

“We are paying the price for poor political decisions from the past [...] we cannot blame the current government alone, but rather it is a long-term problem,” he said, after leaving a meeting with Américo Ramos on Wednesday.

The workers have several ideas they intend to propose to the government to improve the company’s management and boost energy production, including the need to start setting aside 30% of Emae’s revenue for generator maintenance, he said.

Sao Tome and Príncipe has been experiencing an energy crisis for almost a year, since the departure of the Turkish investors’ company, Tesla STP, after the current government deemed that the contract signed by the previous administration contained harmful clauses and demanded its review.

JYAF/MYAL // ADB.

Lusa