The
National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) has been told to buckle up to
regularise the supply of water and electricity because the people have suffered
enough now.
Speaking
at a press conference organised by Power of Freedom held at Alliance Franco
Gambia on Friday, Maimuna Manneh of Power of Freedom said people are sick and
tired of the various excuses that NAWEC continues to give for its poor
performance.
She
said the company keeps promising of better days ahead but the situation keeps
worsening every now and then.
“We
are aware that the new government inherited the country in a drastic economic
state, but we wonder if that is being used as an excuse for this poor
performance,” Ms Manneh said, while asking rhetorically: But why should change
of government affect NAWEC to this extent?
She
said when people went to the polls in December 2016 and voted for the
coalition, “they did not vote for a continuation of the former regime but
instead they voted for better days”.
She
argued that the electricity and water situation was even better in the former
regime than now and the promised better days that people voted for never come
up to now.
“A lot of excuses have been given by NAWEC but
people are not in excuse mode,” she affirmed, adding that the new government
should know that people do not want to get deeper in the abyss.
“This
is the time to put our selfishness aside and work for the greater good of the
people,” she said, accusing NAWEC of serving the top-notch government officials
with constant power and water while neglecting the masses.
“Government
should exist for the people; the people are not supposed to exist for those who
govern to live in comfort lives, while us who elected them live in
poverty. The duty of every government is
to listen to the complaints of the people and address them.”
She
pointed out that any government that is not concerned with the suffering of the
people; any government that does not listen to complaints of hardship of their
people should vacate political office.
Ms
Manneh said with the poor power and water supply in The Gambia, it is difficult
to understand why Gambians pay one of the most expensive electricity tariffs in
the world.
Jerreh
Badjie, founder Power of Freedom, said electricity is an indispensable tool for
any meaningful development in any country.
He
said the new government should reform the whole management of NAWEC and bring
in Gambian engineers and electrical experts, including those from the Diaspora.
Also,
Badjie said, the tax on the importation of solar panels should be reduced
because as the situation is, Gambians cannot depend on NAWEC for constant
electricity and water supply.
