By Fatou Sillah
The National Assembly Member (NAM) for Upper Fulladu West, Hon. Gibbi Mballow, has called on Gambians to refrain from politicising the ongoing electricity crisis, emphasizing that the issue is a national challenge that requires collective efforts rather than political divisions.
Speaking during deliberations on the matter, Mballow said the electricity shortage should be treated as a matter of national concern and not used as a platform for political point-scoring.
“I think the Gambians are watching, and this is the time that we should stop the politics. Issues of national concern should be taken as national concern; it is not about playing politics on it,” he said.
The lawmaker also defended the government’s investments in the energy sector, noting that significant resources have been allocated to expand electricity access across the country.
“We all know this current government, the investment that they have put in the energy sector, and the National Assembly could testify to that. In fact, one billion was given as a subsidy just to bring energy close to the doorstep of people,” he stated.
Mballow highlighted the progress made in extending electricity to rural communities, many of which had remained without access to power since independence.
“For us, coming from rural Gambia, let us go back to the historical context. Fifty years since Gambia attained independence, some of the communities in The Gambia have never seen electricity; thanks to the executive today, they are seeing electricity,” he said.
While acknowledging the difficulties caused by the recent outages, he urged citizens and lawmakers alike to view the situation as a shared national challenge.
“If it is happening only two weeks, let’s accept that as Gambians this is a problem, but let us not come and use political gimmicks in this house,” he said.
Mballow maintained that the government remains committed to resolving the crisis and pointed to ongoing interventions by both the executive and the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).
“The Gambian people know that the executive is concerned day in and day out; they are doing all it takes to ensure that the electricity crisis is being handled. His Excellency the President has even visited NAWEC, and every day NAWEC is giving state briefings to the Gambian people to know what is happening,” he said.
He concluded by calling for national solidarity and constructive engagement in finding solutions to the crisis.
“The politics that we are playing with the electricity crisis is not called for; let us be united for a purpose to make sure that when a problem happens, we all see that this is a problem of the nation, and we come up with ideas to make sure that we are given a solution,” he said.
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