Economist Gajigo Dismisses President Barrow’s Claim That The Gambia Sells Electricity to Senegal

By Makutu Manneh

Economist and politician Ousman Gajigo has strongly disputed President Adama Barrow’s assertion that The Gambia exports electricity to neighboring Senegal, describing the claim as “completely false” and inconsistent with the country’s current power-generation realities.

Speaking on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, Gajigo argued that The Gambia lacks the surplus electricity required to export power, given the significant gap between domestic electricity production and national demand.

“Where are we generating it from? Maybe there is a secret generator in Mankamang Kunda that we don’t know about,” he remarked.

He said the President’s statement came as a surprise, adding that it would likely be equally surprising to officials at the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC). According to Gajigo, NAWEC recently held a press conference but made no mention of electricity exports to Senegal—information he believes would have been highly relevant to the public if it were true.

“Listen, the reality is we don’t sell electricity to Senegal. We cannot because we don’t have it; you need to have surplus production. We have a huge deficit in generation,” he said.

Gajigo further explained that the country’s current electricity production falls far short of national demand. “Currently, what we are generating is significantly less than 50 megawatts, close to maybe 30. Our demand is over 100. The deficit that we have is almost more than twice what we produce,” he stated.

The economist argued that the country’s persistent electricity shortages make any claim of power exports difficult to reconcile with existing conditions. He suggested that if President Barrow has been informed that The Gambia is selling electricity to Senegal, he should question why a country struggling to meet domestic demand would export power abroad.

Gajigo further contended that some of the most significant misinformation in the public sphere originates from government sources, maintaining that the claim regarding electricity exports is both verifiably and demonstrably inaccurate.

His comments come amid growing public concern over recurring power outages and ongoing challenges within The Gambia’s electricity sector.