Activist Blames Corruption and Weak Leadership for Gambia’s Persistent Electricity Crisis

By Fatou Sillah

Human rights activist and Executive Director of the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice, Madi Jobarteh, has attributed The Gambia’s ongoing electricity crisis to systemic corruption, poor governance, and a lack of accountability within the country’s power sector.

Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou, Jobarteh said the root causes of the crisis are well-established but remain unaddressed. “What is behind all this is corruption and lack of good leadership and lack of accountability and lack of efficiency,” he stated.

The activist noted that successive governments have repeatedly failed to deliver on promises to improve electricity supply, pointing to a pattern of stagnation stretching back decades. He said that President Barrow’s first commitment upon taking office was to reform the electricity sector, yet the country continues to grapple with the same challenges that have persisted since 1972.

Jobarteh directed sharp criticism at the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), describing it as plagued by inefficiency, corruption, and an absence of visionary leadership. “There is inefficiency in NAWEC, there is corruption in NAWEC, and there is also no accountability at NAWEC—but in all that, NAWEC lacks clear and visionary leadership that has ambition,” he said.

He called for a broad national conversation to address the crisis, urging both the executive and legislative branches of government to engage seriously with the issue. “This discussion should be a national conversation — cabinet should discuss this, the parliament should discuss this, to see where the problem is,” he said.

Jobarteh expressed frustration that a country more than six decades into independence has yet to secure reliable electricity for its citizens, describing the situation as unacceptable.

He further called for institutional reform at NAWEC, specifically recommending the appointment of a managing director from outside the sector — someone with a strong focus on accountability, service delivery, and measurable results rather than operational experience within the industry.

“NAWEC needs a new managing director who is not involved with the sector as an operator. But someone who all they know is accountability, service delivery, and results,” he said.