The
Gambia government has validated an energy roadmap to take care of rural
electrification as well as electricity transmission and distribution in the
Greater Banjul Area.
However,
there is no ready made funding available within the government for the
implementation of the roadmap, officials said.
The
minister of finance and economic affairs, Amadou Sanneh, said the source of
financing the roadmap is critical, adding that the government should look for
financing whether by loan and or private sector investment.
The
energy roadmap was validated at a two-day energy sector donor conference
organised by the Ministry of Petroleum, in partnership with the National Water
and Electricity Company (NAWEC) at Kairaba Beach Hotel.
The
roadmap has short and medium term plans to solve the current electricity
shortage in the country and to achieve the government’s vision in the energy
sector. The roadmap would guide all the
future investment in the country’s energy sector.
Finance
Minister Sanneh said his ministry fully participated in the validation of the
roadmap for energy is indispensable in the economic development of the country
and the roadmap “shows us the path to travel to improve the energy needs”.
He
said that energy represents the soul of the country’s development for “it is
required in all sectors of the economy”.
The
minister said with the validation of the roadmap, the government now invites
investors to consider investing in the country’s energy sector.
“We
have already received interest from investors but the doors are open to more,”
he said, adding that “NAWEC will look at the technical variability of all the
investment proposals while the financial variability will be looked at by the
Ministry of Finance.”
Petroleum
Minister Fafa Sanyang said the electricity sector in The Gambia today is in “a
precarious situation” as power cuts are common, transmission and distribution
losses high and NAWEC not financially viable.
He
said the roadmap will help in the short and medium term to restore power need
in the Greater Banjul Area, minimise power cuts and lay the foundations for
future expansion.
