By Amadou Manjang
The National Water and Electrical Company (NAWEC) signed a performance contract with the State Owned Enterprise (SOE) Commission last Tuesday at the Sir Dawda Jawara Conference Center in Bijilo.
This contract aims to make NAWEC profitable and improve service delivery.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Baboucarr Bouy, the Minister of Public Service said the contract will help public service delivery from the nation’s only utility provider to be satisfactory to the people, adding that his Ministry’s target is to work with sectors that provide services so that people can get access to services effectively.
The Executive Secretary of the State Owned- -Enterprise Commission, Bai Madi Ceesay, said they have signed eight performance contracts out of thirteen SOEs in the country. He said this is a meaningful agreement, adding that the contract is an instrument to transform SOEs in terms of financial contracts, governance, and management, but cautioned that this will not change their performance overnight because it is a process. He added that the contract aims to transform NAWEC in the medium term, further adding that this would be used to hold the SOE accountable through performance evaluation.
He said all SOEs want to be transformed in the medium term. He said the impact of the lessons from the contract of other SOEs is on the marginal improvement of their finances according to their preliminary reports.
‘‘It is the role of NAWEC to honor this performance contract,’’ he said.
Gallo Saidy, the Managing Director of NAWEC said they will work collectively to achieve the objective of the performance contract, adding that the target of the contract is anchored on moving NAWEC to profitability, and therefore, the performance contract will provide this opportunity. He further said they will do their best and they want other parties to do the same. Saidy added that this therefore is a collective responsibility for all of them.
