The
Gambia government, through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and
Natural Resources, hosted the 43rd ordinary session of the OMVG council of
ministers meeting.
Officials
said this year’s meeting, on the theme: ‘Time for action’, was crucial as it
took decisions and came up with resolutions that are critical to the
implementation of the OMVG energy project.
The
project is to address the current and future energy needs of the OMVG member
states of Senegal, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia.
Speaking
at the meeting held at a hotel in Brufut, Lamin B. Dibba, Minister of
Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, said the theme for this
year’s meeting captures the sentiments of the Gambian people, who have heard
about the OMVG for a long time without being able to associate any achievement
with it.
The
theme of the meeting is attributable to the expeditious implementation of the
OMVG energy project, which would stimulate the interest of the OMVG member
states.
“It
is universally accepted that lack of clean and affordable energy supply is one
of the banes of our underdevelopment,” he added.
The
minister of the Environment said his ministry would support all the efforts of
OMVG, and ensure that The Gambia meets all her obligations and commitments to
the OMVG as and when required.
“We
are working on identifying an office space for the OMVG national coordinating
unit and finalisation of the recruitment of the staff of the unit,” he
announced.
On behalf of the vice president, Claudiana Taylor Cole minster of Basic and Secondary Education, in a statement said The Gambia eagerly looks forward to the OMVG energy project to deliver “unprecedented socio-economic development”.
The
energy project would supply clean energy at a competitive rate, with a view to
reducing the energy deficits in the four OMVG member states.
The
project is expected to provide OMVG member states with a total installed
capacity of 368 MW, as well as 1,348 gigawatts per hour of cheaper renewable
energy per year.
The
minister said the project would also contribute to the establishment of a
building block for the regional power industry, as well as the establishment of
a regional power market through the gradual integration of isolated national
grids into the West African power pool unified regional interconnection system.
The
Gambia is expecting to initially benefit about a total quantity of 80 megawatts
of electricity from the Sambangalou Dam facility along the borders of Senegal
and Guinea, and the two dam facilities in The Gambia.
According to the National Water Electricity Company Limited, this would help address most of The Gambia’s current electricity needs, Mrs Taylor Cole continued.
She
pointed out that The Gambia has settled all her arrears to the OMVG annual
operating budget and counterpart funding to the energy project for the year
ended December 2016.
The
minister urged all the other member states to honour their commitment to the
OMVG, with a view to support the implementation of OMVG programmes, in general,
and the energy project, in particular.
Other
speakers included the Minister of Natural Resources of Guinea-Bissau and
current chairman of the OMVG council of ministers, Baros Bacar Banjai.
