Three Days NAWEC Blackout Ruins Dejected Kerr Serign Residents' Food Supplies
Candle in the Darkness (c) Unknown
By Haddy Ceesay
Residents of Kerr Serign expressed dissatisfaction with the country’s only National, Water and Electricity Company after three days of power cuts that occurred starting on Saturday 13th July 2024 to Monday 15th July 2024. The power cuts commonly known as blackouts have affected numerous residents of Kerr Serign with no access to generators or solar power as they have lost food provisions due to lack of electricity.
One Kerr Serign Resident by the name of Fatou Sowe told our medium that the Government should ensure uninterrupted access to electricity and water is guaranteed for every citizen. She revealed that "despite living very close to the Agriculture Minister our situation is getting worse. It’s so disheartening living without water and electricity we cannot sleep at night when there is no electricity and three days is too much, the Government has to do something about it. she lamented”.
Given the recent blackouts, a video of President Adama Barrow speaking on NAWEC has been making the rounds for those with enough battery on their phones to watch it. In the video, President Adama Barrow can be heard saying that NAWEC has done a good job and that currently, NAWEC has sufficient capacity for the country without any further requirements. The video cuts off to President Barrow at another function where a power cut forced him to blow air into the microphone asking “Is the power gone?”
Electricity eventually returned to Kerr Serign on Monday but by then the damage had already been done. Another Kerr Serign Resident by the name of Kura Touray told our reporter that she had prepared “four different dishes and kept them in the refrigerator and now everything got spoiled and things are very expensive in the country. People voted in President Barrow for changes but nothing has changed. My neighbour’s child fainted yesterday because of the heat in her house. The government has to do something about this” she lamented.
Another Kerr Serign resident by the name of Mbombeh Njie told our reporter that she had no choice but to throw away one week's worth of food because of the blackouts. "It's very sad seeing the food you spent money on getting spoiled especially for some of us who are less privileged given the hardships we are faced with in today’s Gambia”.
Now that the blackouts have resumed together with the rainy season residents of Kerr Serign and other areas in Greater Banjul are calling on the Government and NAWEC in particular to improve on the provision of stable electricity and water that will not cause damage to their foodstuffs and other electrical appliances. One resident noted that the Voltage on NAWEC Pole number S.F.F 1.76 is not effective.
Last month on 19th June 2024, Paradise TV issued a statement apologizing to their viewers “for the disruption in [their] coverage caused by a power surge from one of NAWEC’s electric poles”. NAWEC blackouts also had a serious impact last year, 16th June 2023, forcing Paradise TV to report that their “broadcast on Satellite and Facebook will be interrupted for some time today as we have been running on Generator since 9 pm last night. This is as a result of interrupted power supply from NAWEC”.
In 2022 a fire outbreak was reported in Fajikunda Health Center after a fire incident was said to have occurred after NAWEC’s erratic power switches on and off.
Meanwhile, just in June 2024, the State Owned Entreprises Commission submitted a report on NAWEC’s Contract to President Adama Barrow. According to the report which evaluated NAWEC’s performance from 2021 to 2022 NAWEC only met 30% and 20% of the targets set for its Key Performance Indicators. The Commission is set to reduce NAWEC’s Staff salaries by 5% for not meeting their KPIs.
It’s clear now that NAWEC is not meeting its Key Performance Indicators and there are numerous challenges affecting the country’s only Electricity and Water Company.
#NAWEC #KPIs #BlackOuts #KerrSerign #PresidentBarrow
