𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥: 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐚 - 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞

There comes a point when a government’s failures can no longer be dismissed as temporary challenges, technical difficulties or inherited problems.

For many Gambians, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.

Across the country, prolonged electricity blackouts are disrupting businesses, households, education and healthcare. Families are losing food and electrical goods, businesses are losing income, and students are struggling to study.

Yet while citizens struggle with one of the most basic necessities of modern life, government officials continue to move around in multimillion-dalasi SUVs, while the President tours the country laying foundation stones for roads and other projects.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬?

Infrastructure matters. But development is meaningless if communities cannot depend on reliable electricity to power their homes, businesses, schools and clinics.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

The electricity crisis is not merely an inconvenience. It can have consequences measured in livelihoods and potentially, lives.

Last week, 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

If confirmed, this is deeply disturbing and demands a full investigation.

Healthcare facilities cannot function safely without dependable electricity. Medical equipment, emergency treatment, refrigeration and basic patient care all depend on it.

The public deserves to know what happened, whether the power outage contributed to the patient’s death, what backup arrangements were available and whether everything possible was done to protect the patient.

𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.

𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞

The people of 𝐆𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟗 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠.

This is not an isolated complaint. It is part of a wider and persistent national problem.

Another of the many power interruption notices from NAWEC

At the same time, The Gambia continues to spend substantial amounts importing electricity from neighbouring countries.

The obvious question is: 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

How much is being spent on imported and emergency power, and why has years of expenditure failed to deliver a reliable electricity supply?

These are legitimate questions of public accountability, not political rhetoric.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

Ultimately, responsibility for the direction and performance of government cannot be passed indefinitely from one institution to another.

President Adama Barrow leads the government. He appoints ministers, sets national priorities and has the authority to demand results from the institutions responsible for delivering essential services.

That does not mean the President is personally responsible for every technical fault or power outage.

It does mean that 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

The government cannot seek credit for its achievements while treating its failures as someone else’s problem.

If roads are completed, the government rightly celebrates them. If new projects are launched, they are presented as evidence of progress.

But when communities go without electricity for 19 hours or more, businesses suffer and healthcare facilities are placed under pressure, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

And when a patient reportedly dies during a power outage at a clinic, Gambians have every right to demand answers.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

After years in office, reliable electricity should not remain an elusive promise for so many Gambians.

𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬

The President’s continued road tours and foundation-stone ceremonies may generate headlines, but they should not obscure the more urgent realities facing ordinary citizens.

𝐀 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.

A new road does not keep a clinic’s medical equipment running.

And a ceremony does not put electricity back into a community.

The measure of government should ultimately be what people experience in their daily lives: reliable electricity, clean water, functioning healthcare, quality education, jobs and an economy in which ordinary citizens can build secure livelihoods.

That is where the government’s priorities should be judged.

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝐭𝐡: 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞

Ultimately, accountability belongs to the people.

December 5th gives Gambians an opportunity to assess the government’s record, not simply its promises and decide whether the country’s current direction deserves another mandate.

The choice should not be reduced to 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐬.

It should come down to performance, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬.

Every candidate seeking the people’s vote should be required to answer some basic questions:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲?

And ultimately:

𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬?

The Gambia does not need more excuses. It needs competent leadership, clear priorities and measurable results.

The people should come before political convenience. Public resources should serve the public. And development should be measured not by the number of foundation stones laid, but by whether ordinary Gambians are actually living better lives.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭

On December 5th 2026, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 like they did on 1st December 2016.

𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

Editor’s Note: The reported death referenced above should be independently investigated and verified by the relevant health and government authorities. Gunjur Online calls for transparency regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident.