The budget points it out: “The Government of The Gambia and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a US$25 million threshold program to support the country’s biggest constraint to economic growth – the unreliable and inadequate supply of electricity. Every year each MCC candidate country receives a scorecard assessing performance in three policy categories: Ruling Justly, Investing in People, and Encouraging Economic Freedom. The Gambia has met performance standard of 16 out of the 20 MCC indicators that make up the three policy categories.”
Reliable and adequate supply of electricity is the base and fuel for economic development, without which growth will be hindered.
Households, small- and medium-scale enterprises, firms and industries, as well as health and other essential facilities, will be grounded when there is unreliable and inadequate electricity supply.
Faint supply of electricity hampers the performance and growth of the engine of economic growth - the private sector.
All businesses - commerce, manufacturing firms, financial intermediaries, IT and digital enterprises, the media, agribusiness - depend on reliable and adequate electricity supply to work efficiently and to be productive in order to raise the country’s Gross Domestic Product adequately enough to beef up national income and revenue for growth and development.
Without reliable electricity, many households and family businesses will slowly crumble to halt, to income poverty and hardship.
The growth of cottage industry including welding shops, tailoring shops, boutiques, bakeries, and other small-scale enterprises will be stunted and grounded.
The ensuing economic hardship will take human development index and national growth to a low ebb.
And if we should grow, transform our economy and improve the lives of our people, our economy must be powered by reliable and adequate supply of energy and electricity.
No nation has been able to grow, industrialise and provide sufficient jobs for its people in the absence of reliable and adequate energy and electricity supply.
We won’t be able to produce enough to meet our needs. Our GDP, which is the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year - will always be restricted and the economy abandoned to seeking only grant and aid.
So many strategic steps and bilateral agreements have been made to provide electricity and improve energy generation by the authorities under the purview of the Energy Ministry and NAWEC.
While these efforts are sustaining minimal electricity supply in the country, growth and development requires much more. Reliable and adequate electricity supply will provide for extensive development needs.
We need oil, gas, solar, wind farm and other renewable energy resources to light up and to power the productivity of our economy and country.
It will therefore be good to let our government authorities keep up the pace (move from 16 out of 20 MCC indicators so far achieved) and tread thoughtfully the path of ruling justly, investing in people and encouraging economic freedom to secure the US$25 million helping hand of the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the United States of America.
