BARROW’S REPEATED ELECTRICITY PROMISES EXPOSE A PROFOUND FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP
By Cllr. Mc Cham Jr, Unite Campaign Manager
President Adama Barrow’s latest announcement that three new generators have been purchased and are on their way to Banjul may sound reassuring, but Gambians have heard similar promises before. The problem is no longer a shortage of presidential assurances. It is the government’s persistent failure to translate those assurances into reliable electricity.
In 2024, President Barrow told Banjul Council elders that NAWEC had sufficient generating capacity. He claimed that some generators had even been switched off and placed on standby because the available capacity exceeded demand. Two years later, the President now says three additional generators are being brought into the country to help address the electricity crisis.
What happened to the generators that were supposedly on standby? Were they properly maintained? Are they still operational? If NAWEC had enough capacity in 2024, why is the country now relying on new generators to overcome persistent power shortages?
The government cannot continue making fresh promises without explaining why its previous assurances failed to produce results. The continuing outages reflect serious failures in planning, maintenance and leadership. After nearly a decade in power, President Barrow cannot keep treating the electricity crisis as a temporary problem.
Electricity is not a luxury. Hospitals, businesses, schools and households depend on a stable supply. Patients should not be placed at risk, businesses should not suffer constant losses and families should not remain in darkness while the government repeatedly promises that relief is coming.
Purchasing new generators may provide temporary relief, but it does not answer the central question. What happened to the standby capacity promised in 2024?
Two years have passed, the promises have been repackaged and the power cuts persist. Gambians deserve a government that delivers reliable electricity, not one that repeatedly offers assurances without results. This crisis has become a damning reflection of incompetence, negligence and failed leadership.
