The Gambia’s National
Assembly has today (Wednesday) endorsed a grant of US$31.9M
‘emergency electric power supply programme’ meant for rehabilitation and maintenance of diesel generators and
auxiliary equipment, fuel and lubricant procurement, and capacity building
support to project management.
The programme will also
address payment preparation, monitoring and coordination cost by the implementing
agency, West Africa Power Pool (WAPP).
Meant
for the Greater Banjul, a densely populated area, the agreement signed on
December 16, 2013 between the Government of The Gambia and the ECOWAS Commission
is expected to address erratic power supply.
 |
| Trade Minister Abdou Kolley |
On January 15, at the
first sitting of the legislature in 2014, the Minister of
Trade, Regional Integration and Employment Abdou Kolley said this grant would
help achieve greater energy sufficiency.
He
said it will also reduce the unsustainable exploitation of forest resources to
support the socio-economic activities of The Gambia.
The
Gambia heavily depends on fossil fuel (heavy fuel oil and diesel) for its electricity
generation.
According
to Kolley, fossil fuel is the most expensive mode of electricity generation,
especially for an oil importing country like The Gambia.
He
said the frequent fluctuation of international oil prices over the years has
seriously affected the operations of the National Water and Electricity Company
(NAWEC) and has been the prime mover of electricity tariffs.
“[This]
has been a major concern to the Government of The Gambia as well as the
development partners, who have been making interventions to improve the
situation in order to spur the economy,” he said.
According to him, NAWEC is purchasing fuel at
increasingly high prices and this consumes more than 50% of the company's
revenue. Even though electricity tariffs are high, they are still not
reflective of the real cost, thus making the situation difficult, he said.
With
fluctuating oil prices, electricity losses are currently at 22% (reduced from
30%) due to ageing infrastructure, he added.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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