Mr Sankareh, who is also presidential adviser on diaspora affairs, told West Coast Radio that neither the president nor the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) had deliberately caused the crisis.
“NAWEC has no policy to deliberately frustrate Gambians,” he said. “This is a situation that neither President Barrow nor NAWEC has control over.”
“The electricity sector is difficult and it is a challenge for all governments of the world,” Mr. Sankareh said. He cited the rising cost of energy and supply disruptions as major factors making the situation difficult.
“This is far beyond the Gambian government,” he said. “The parameters are so global. Actually every government does this now, navigating this situation.
He said the pressures are not peculiar to The Gambia, citing even developed countries as facing similar challenges. “There is not one government on the face of the earth that is not being affected by these global realities,” he said, pointing to sharp rises in jet fuel prices in Europe.
Mr. Sankareh also noted that The Gambia’s electricity system is linked to a regional grid through the Organisation for the Development of the Gambia River Basin (OMVG), a joint partnership between The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. He described the arrangement as one of mutual dependence, rather than reliance.
“We are not dependent, we are interdependant,” he said.
“I am optimistic that despite the challenges, we will have more reliable electricity in the future,” Mr. Sankareh said.
“I would hope and aspire to a day when you and I will wake up every day without any sporadic electricity problems; that is the hope of the President, it is the hope of every and any genuine Gambian,” he said.
