Sanyang in Darkness: NPP Youth Chairman Laments Frequent Power Cuts Amid 4.5km Road Inauguration

Written by Mama A. Touray

As residents of Sanyang in the Kombo South constituency gathered for the inauguration of a newly constructed 4.5-kilometre seaside road, the community was without electricity for several hours.

The road project was welcomed by residents, who believe it will improve transportation, trade and access to neighbouring communities. However, as President Adama Barrow and his entourage received a rousing welcome from the people of Sanyang and other parts of Kombo South, the contrast was difficult to ignore: a new road was being inaugurated to connect the village to the seaside while much of the community remained in darkness.

National People’s Party (NPP) Youth Chairman Lamin Bojang used the occasion to lament the frequent power cuts in Sanyang, saying the situation was making politics difficult for supporters of the ruling party in the area.

“President Barrow, our politics in Sanyang is becoming difficult with these frequent power cuts. In Sanyang, if power goes off, it does not come back until the time it went off, and the entire Sanyang is a witness to that,” he said.

“As I speak, there is no electricity in Sanyang, so we are calling on the President and telling him that Sanyang is a big village. When it comes to electricity, the power supply is very small,” Bojang continued.

“Along the highway is where electricity is available, but when you go inside, along Sanchaba and other diverse places, there is no electricity in these areas.”

Taking the podium to respond to the concerns raised by the NPP Youth Chairman, President Barrow said his government had secured $50 million from the World Bank to expand electricity access to communities that remain without power.

“The chairman spoke here and said other parts of Sanyang do not have electricity, but I am telling you that my government received $50 million from the World Bank to empower villages without electricity in The Gambia. We have that money, and we signed that partnership with them already,” Barrow said.

According to the President, only 35% of Gambians had access to electricity when he came to power, compared with 92% today.

“The day I became President, out of every hundred, only 35% had electricity, but today, out of every hundred, 92% have electricity,” he said.

Comparing his government’s record with previous administrations, Barrow said it had taken about 50 years for electricity access to reach 35%, while his government had significantly expanded access over the past decade.

“Within my government’s ten years, out of every hundred, 60% have access to electricity,” he added.

Barrow also promised that his government would continue working to improve electricity supply, saying a time would come when Gambians might complain about not having money to buy Cash Power credit, but not about the absence of electricity.

“Where I am standing, we purchased three machines and they are on the way, and we have prepared the platform. Once they arrive in The Gambia, they will start operating. We have also prepared the tender for a 50-megawatt solar project, and the work will soon commence,” he said.

“After that, electricity will be available in The Gambia until Gambia supplies other countries,” Barrow assured.