By: Fatou Krubally
The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) has raised concerns over the government’s decision to commit $14.1 million to rural electrification contracts amid continuing challenges with electricity generation and outstanding payments to foreign power suppliers.
In a statement issued on Monday, EFSCRJ said contracts for the electrification of 241 communities in the Upper River Region (URR) and Central River Region (CRR) were signed on September 25 between the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and two foreign companies.
According to the organisation, Alpha TND was awarded the CRR component at a cost of $8.81 million, while Power Factor Limited was awarded the URR component for $5.35 million. EFSCRJ said the contracts would be funded directly from the national budget.
The organisation said it was concerned about the timing of the expenditure, arguing that the government should first address the country’s electricity generation challenges before expanding access to more communities.
EFSCRJ said expanding electricity connections without sufficient generation capacity could leave newly connected communities facing the same power outages experienced elsewhere in the country.
“While every community has the right to access electricity, it is fundamentally imprudent to connect communities without first ensuring adequate generation capacity,” the organisation said.
It described the approach as “building pipes while the well runs dry”, arguing that increasing the number of connections would have limited impact if adequate electricity generation was not available to supply them.
EFSCRJ also drew attention to a letter from the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) to the Ministry of Finance concerning $24.9 million received from a World Bank-funded project.
According to EFSCRJ, the funds are intended to settle outstanding arrears owed to foreign power suppliers, including SENELEC in Senegal and EDG in Guinea.
While acknowledging the importance of meeting the country’s obligations to foreign suppliers, EFSCRJ questioned the continued reliance on imported electricity while domestic generation facilities, including the Brikama and Kotu Power stations, face what it described as poor performance and inefficiency.
The organisation argued that greater investment should be directed towards strengthening domestic generation capacity and reducing the country’s dependence on external power supplies.
EFSCRJ said it had also written to the Presidential Taskforce on Electricity Supply on September 29, outlining its concerns and making recommendations it believes could help address the electricity crisis.
The Taskforce is headed by Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow. EFSCRJ said it was awaiting a response from the Taskforce as it called on the government to give greater priority to electricity generation alongside efforts to expand access across the country.
The organisation maintained that expanding electricity access remained important, but argued that improving generation capacity was necessary to ensure that newly electrified communities receive a reliable power supply.
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