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Venezuelan Official Accused of Stealing Electricity
A small opposition party said on Friday that Venezuela's new minister of electricity has been guilty of stealing power amid a crisis that has caused prolonged blackouts across the Andean nation.A residence belonging to Minister Angel Rodriguez is being supplied with electricity via an illegal connection from a power pole, the MAS party said. The residence is located in Puerto La Cruz, a city in the western state of Anzoategui. The secretary of the MAS party in Anzoategui, Richard Casanova, called the power theft "unusual" in light of Rodriguez's statements urging Venezuelans "to accept rationing and to conserve electricity." Rodriguez was sworn-in Tuesday as Venezuela's first minister of Electric Energy, a post President Hugo Chavez created a few weeks ago to address the oil-rich country's power crisis. "With what moral authority will President Chavez demand that the country save energy, if his minister for the sector steals power," Casanova said at a press conference. Chavez blames the crisis on "waste," on increased consumption accompanying economic growth and on the government's failure to build new power plants quickly enough. Posted by: Fred 2009-11-08 |
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