Mr. Ceesay was speaking yesterday with West Coast Radio's Peter Gomez on its Coffee Time Show – a platform that attracts a wide number of listeners across the country and beyond.
Mr. Larry Ceesay claimed that NAWEC is annually sourcing over $300 million worth of electricity from SENELEC when quizzed whether The Gambia is paying that huge amount to Senegal for electricity.
"They're going to deny it but let them publish the contracts they signed with SENELEC and Karpowership. People will see the fact that the money that should go into creating electricity infrastructure for the country is being outsourced. I'm not saying we shouldn't partner with SENELEC, but as a country, we need to develop our infrastructures," he argued on West Coast Radio.
Responding to Ceesay’s comments, Mr Mod K. Ceesay explained that the electricity market in West Africa called the West Africa Power Pool, interconnects member states allowing for the sourcing of electricity from areas with excess to deficit points, while allowing for selectivity of the cheapest sourcing of electricity.
"This arrangement allows for the use of the country's comparative advantages in generating capabilities, wind and solar among others. The figure branded is wrong, given the total gross revenue of NAWEC," he replied.
When asked what’s the problem with the NAWEC publishing contracts agreement between SENELEC and Karpowership, he responded that "in as much as the government promotes transparency and accountability, the nature of government business is such that you can have secrecy, classified information and confidential materials."
He, however, promised that the contract agreements will be published when it matters most, while indicating that the documents were shared with journalists who attended the signing ceremonies.
He further clarified that The Gambia is getting 30 megawatts from Senegal, arguing that with calculation, the figure mentioned is impossible.
