NAWEC MD Defends Barrow’s Remarks on Power Capacity, Says Statement Reflected Demand at the Time

By Makutu Manneh

Gallo Saidy, the managing director of the National Water and Electricity Company, has defended President Adama Barrow’s earlier assertion that The Gambia had sufficient electricity generation capacity, saying the statement accurately reflected the country’s power demand and available capacity at the time.

Speaking on Kerr Fatou, Mr. Saidy said electricity demand stood at about 45 megawatts in 2017, significantly lower than current levels.

“When the president was making that statement, it was a fact because the power was there, the electricity capacity was there,” Mr. Saidy said.

He said electricity demand has since risen sharply, from about 45 megawatts to roughly 140 megawatts, and argued that the president’s earlier remarks should be understood in the context of the conditions that existed when they were made.

Mr. Saidy also explained that NAWEC’s strategy has been to keep some of its own generating units in reserve because they are relatively expensive to operate. Those units, he said, are intended to serve as backup and can be brought online when other sources of electricity are disrupted or insufficient to meet demand.

His comments come as the government and NAWEC face growing scrutiny over persistent power outages and questions about the country’s generation capacity.

Mr. Saidy said information presented to the president on the electricity sector comes from Gambian officials and institutions and is based on the data and assessments available at the time.

“We are human beings; we can all make mistakes,” he said. “But if he comes out and says this is the target, there is a basis for it.”

Mr. Saidy maintained that comparing the president’s earlier statement with today’s electricity situation without accounting for the substantial increase in demand would overlook how significantly the country’s power needs have changed.