Akon wanted to bring power to Puerto Rico but was turned down

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According to artist Akon, Puerto Rico could have had power in 30 days if Donald Trump’s administration had allowed his organization to work its magic on the island.

On Saturday, Akon told TMZ that he had worked through his program, Akon Lighting Africa, to present a plan to bring power back to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the territory.

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“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,” said Akon.

He went on to say that this rejection was proof that the Trump administration didn’t care in the least about Puerto Rico.

“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,” Akon said.

Akon Lighting Africa, which was established in 2014, has brought power back to 14 different African nations, so this isn’t just an empty claim, either. Akon and his organization know how to get things done.

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Puerto Rico is still struggling

Contrast that to the situation in Puerto Rico, where power has been restored to only 83.8 percent of the island territory despite months and months of relief work.

Lieutenant General Todd Semonite, the commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, admitted during an interview with the Pentagon that he was frustrated by the slow progress on the island.

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“If somebody were to say, ‘How come you can’t do this in 25 days?’—we can get 95 percent of this done, in say 6 months, but now we are doing things by helicopter because it is that hard to make some of that happen,” Semonite said.

In the meantime, many Puerto Rican citizens remain without power, and still others are struggling to pick up the pieces after the devastation of the hurricane. It’s hard not to wonder if their situation would be better if someone else had stepped in.