By Fatou Sillah
Economist and politician Dr. Ousman Gajigo has said President Adama Barrow’s political fortunes could be threatened by The Gambia’s persistent electricity crisis, accusing his administration of failing to make adequate investments in domestic power generation.
Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou, Gajigo said the frequent power outages had become more than an energy-sector problem, disrupting businesses, households, and essential public services, including hospitals.
He argued that the government’s performance on electricity should be measured not by how much money it says it has spent on the sector but by the quality and reliability of the service Gambians receive.
Gajigo also criticized the government’s reliance on imported electricity and its long-term arrangement with Karpowership, arguing that the money spent on those agreements could have been directed toward developing domestic generation capacity.
He said the Barrow administration had years to expand the country’s power-generation infrastructure but failed to do enough, leaving The Gambia increasingly dependent on neighboring countries to meet its electricity needs.
Gajigo also questioned the government’s recent efforts to secure additional electricity from Senegal and Guinea, suggesting that the push was driven in part by political pressure ahead of the 2026 presidential election.
“The one person here today who should be ashamed is Adama Barrow, who has given us false information about the energy situation, and now he’s running around like a chicken without a head,” Gajigo said. “First to Senegal, now to Guinea, scrambling at the last minute because he knows that his political survival is at stake.”
He dismissed Guinea as a long-term answer to The Gambia’s electricity problems, saying the country faces power challenges of its own.
“Guinea is not going to save him, because Guinea itself is in an energy deficit,” Gajigo said.
His remarks come as electricity supply and repeated outages have emerged as a significant public concern ahead of the December presidential election.
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