By Yankuba Jallow
Gallo Saidy, the Managing Director of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), Friday detailed the challenges his company is grappling with and how they are working to overcome the electricity and water supply challenges. He also promised that NAWEC will be one of the best utilities company in the sub-region in the next 2 years.
The press conference organised by the Ministry of Information was meant to create a platform for NAWEC to explain their projects and challenges to the public. Managing Director Saidy was recently appointed by the President to head NAWEC and it was his first press conference since assuming office.
The Managing Director began by saying NAWEC is the backbone of the Gambia’s economy. He stated that if NAWEC does well, the economy will do well likewise if NAWEC does not do well, it will have an impact on the economy of the country.
“I am aware of the challenges of NAWEC. It is not an easy journey. It is going to get worse before it gets better,” Gallo Saidy said.
He said NAWEC is responsible for the supply of both electricy and water to the population, but they are faced with the problems of both power outages and intermittent water supply. He added that there are plans to address the problems. He stated that they are implementing some projects meant to solve the problems for both water and electricity supply.
“My expectations are, within the next year or two years, these problems of frequent outages of power and the intermittent supply of water will be resolved- I am not saying 100%, but 80 to 90 percent,” the Managing Director said.
He decried that NAWEC’s infrastructure, historically, is very old.
“There hasn’t been a lot of investment in the system for many years. That is the reality,” he said.
MD Saidy said the reality is that NAWEC cannot meet the demand 100 percent.
“The reality is that we cannot meet the demand 100%,” he said.
He promised that they are working hard to improve the system to enhance their service delivery.
He also shed light on the Government’s ambitious aim of universal access to electricity in the coming 2 years.
“It is not only a vision, it is going to be a reality in this country. The projects are on the ground. It is happening as we speak. We want to electrify the entire Gambia. It is not a small task – it is a big task,” he said.
The Managing Director said NAWEC has been moving from one level to another.
“My vision is to make NAWEC one of the best utilities in our region. People can say it is an outrage. No, it is a possibility. We have a lot of potential. There are a lot of opportunities for The Gambia,” Saidy said.
He called on the public to bear with them as they work on to solve the problems. He stated that they are aware of the concerns of the people.
“We are sorry. We are doing something about it,” he said.
“In 2 years, NAWEC will be one of the best utilities in the sub-refion. It is going to reach at every body – not only the Greater Banjul Area,” he said.
He said the 24 months’ timeline he gave is realistic and the people can hold him to account when the time is due.
The Managing Director was asked why NAWEC charges customers even without having water supply. He referred the question to one of his staff to answer it.
Matar Manjang, Senior Manager, GBA Group Customer Service Directorate of NAWEC, said the company charges it as “minimum charge for the service.”
Manjang called on Gambians to provide NAWEC their emails to get their monthly bills. He explained that they have problems in printing bills for the past 3 months. He said they are trying to resolve the problems. He added that the NAWEC website is built in a way to help address the concerns of customers such as support, complaints and any other thing. He added that people can now pay their bills using their bank accounts.
The MD was also asked about electricity cost. Gallo Saidy said NAWEC buys fuel to generate electricity. He added that the cost of fuel is not determined by them. On the other hand, he said NAWEC aspires to resort to sustainable energy, which is renewable energy like solar. He added that they have started that and they are implementing it in some communities.
“The drive is to go more into sustainable energy and more away from thermal (fuel) energy,” he said.
