Reports of demonstrations, roadblocks, burning tyres and disturbances are deeply concerning. Gambians have a legitimate right to express frustration and peacefully demand reliable electricity. But protest must remain peaceful, lawful and responsible.
Violence, theft, destruction of property, attacks on innocent citizens and threats to public safety cannot be justified by electricity shortages.
At the same time, the Police and other security services have a fundamental responsibility to protect the population, preserve public order and safeguard life and property.
Mr President, particular caution is necessary regarding protests at night. Night demonstrations carry significantly greater public-safety risks. Darkness can make it more difficult for the Police to distinguish peaceful protesters from individuals seeking to exploit legitimate demonstrations to engage in theft, vandalism, violence or other criminal activity.
We should therefore encourage citizens wishing to demonstrate to do so peacefully during daylight hours, when demonstrations can be more effectively organised, monitored and protected.
The Police should engage communities and protest organisers proactively, facilitate lawful peaceful assemblies and take firm but proportionate action against criminal conduct. The objective must always be to protect both the constitutional rights of citizens and the security of the wider population.
But maintaining public order addresses only the symptoms. The underlying electricity crisis must remain Government’s principal focus.
Mr President, your recent acknowledgement of shortcomings in planning, generation and maintenance was important. The additional 24 MW generation capacity announced for Brikama, the proposed 50 MW Soma solar project and the Presidential Task Force provide an opportunity to move from emergency management towards structural reform.
Implementation must now become visible, measurable and accountable.
The Gambia’s electricity difficulties are not new. Our experience stretches back decades. The electricity crisis that emerged on 22 November 1977 should remind us that successive governments have confronted variations of this challenge.
Emergency interventions may provide temporary relief, but sustainable electricity requires continuous investment, preventive maintenance, institutional competence, financial discipline and long-term planning.
Mr President, the following is a Five-Point Electricity Action Plan:
1. Stabilise Supply Immediately
Establish a 90-day emergency generation programme. Repair recoverable generating units, secure adequate fuel stocks, maximise economically viable regional electricity imports and fast-track temporary generation where necessary. NAWEC should publish weekly figures showing megawatts available, unavailable and expected to return to service.
2. Restore Financial Discipline at Nawec
Undertake an urgent independent review of receivables, arrears, fuel obligations, electricity-import liabilities and operating costs. Government institutions, businesses and major consumers must meet their electricity obligations. Financial sustainability requires discipline across the system.
3. Accelerate New Generation and Diversify the Energy Mix
Deliver the announced Brikama capacity against a published timetable and accelerate competitively procured solar, battery-storage and regional interconnection projects. The strategic objective should be to reduce excessive dependence on ageing thermal generation and expensive emergency interventions.
4. Fix Transmission, Distribution and Maintenance
Generation alone will not solve the crisis. Establish measurable targets for technical and commercial losses, preventive maintenance, transformer failures, feeder reliability, smart metering and network reinforcement. Every megawatt generated but lost before reaching consumers represents wasted resources.
5. Establish A National Electricity Recovery Dashboard
Publish generation availability, outages, imports, fuel stocks, repair schedules, project milestones, financial indicators and institutional responsibilities. The President and the Gambian public should be able to see whether promised interventions are being delivered.
What gets measured gets managed. What gets published gets scrutinised.
The Presidential Task Force should command public confidence and include the technical, financial, regulatory and institutional expertise necessary to address the structural causes of recurring electricity crises. Its composition and operations should comply fully with applicable governance and administrative requirements.
Mr President, public order matters. National security matters. The right to peaceful expression matters. And reliable electricity matters.
The Police must protect citizens and prevent legitimate grievances from being exploited by those seeking violence, theft or destruction. Protesters, for their part, should exercise their rights peacefully, responsibly and preferably during daylight hours, respecting the rights, businesses and property of fellow citizens.
Government’s most powerful response to public frustration, however, will ultimately be credible delivery.
Let this electricity crisis become the turning point when The Gambia moves from repeatedly managing emergencies to building a reliable, affordable and sustainable national electricity system.
Peaceful protest should be protected. Violence and theft should be prevented. And the electricity crisis must be solved.
Good day!
The Point editorial