𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥: 𝐍𝐀𝐖𝐄𝐂 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 — 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭

The people of Gunjur, and indeed much of the Kombo region, continue to endure daily power outages with no clear end in sight.

Residents in Gunjur received barely one hour of electricity yesterday and just two hours today. Such a situation is unacceptable and unsustainable in the 21st century.

At a government press conference earlier today, officials from NAWEC attributed the ongoing power crisis to “maintenance works on domestic power generation facilities” and “procurement bottlenecks linked to tensions in the Middle East.”

NAWEC’s Deputy Managing Director speaking at the Press Conference earlier on Wednesday

While maintenance of power infrastructure is necessary, Gambians have every right to ask a simple question: How can such extensive maintenance works be undertaken without adequate backup measures being put in place beforehand?

The consequences of these prolonged blackouts are severe. Businesses are losing substantial amounts of money daily as goods perish, operations are disrupted, and productivity declines. Families are equally affected, struggling to preserve food, operate essential household appliances, and carry out their daily activities.

The economic and social costs of these outages continue to mount, yet ordinary citizens are left with little or clear information about when normal service will resume.

Gambians deserve answers. They deserve transparency about how public funds allocated to the energy sector are being spent and why, after decades of investment and repeated promises, reliable electricity remains elusive.

For over sixty years, successive governments have pledged to address the country’s energy challenges. Yet despite over D35 billion pumped into NAWEC over the last decade, Gambians continent to experience frequent and prolonged power outages in 2026.

Reliable electricity is not a luxury; it is a basic requirement for economic growth, education, healthcare, and national development. The current situation demands urgent intervention, effective planning, and accountability from those entrusted with managing the country’s power supply.

The people of Gunjur, the Kombos, and the wider Gambian population deserve better.