(AllHipHop News) Akon wanted to help the people of Puerto Rico who were without power more than five months after a devastating hurricane.
The 44-year-old rapper-turned-philanthropist told a reporter from TMZ.com that his organization, the Akon Lighting Africa company, could have restored power back to the residents of the stricken island within weeks.
However, Akon revealed that his offer to help after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last September was rejected by government officials.
“We actually presented a program for Puerto Rico and we got rejected. We have the solution for Puerto Rico… and we could’ve had power back in 30 days. And they rejected us,” he said. “It’s politics, propaganda, and special interests. They didn’t care about the people—if that was the case, they would have allowed us to go in and provide the solution.”
More than five months after the storm ravaged the island, 83 per cent of residents have finally had their power restored.
The “Locked Up” hitmaker reportedly struck a $50 million deal with government officials in Mozambique to bring electricity to rural areas in the country in October last year.
The Akon Lighting Africa company, which he co-founded in 2013 to provide electricity to some of Africa’s most impoverished rural areas, has also been expanded to Latin America, while also setting up the Solar Academy in Mali to teach engineers how to harness the power of the sun’s energy.