Solution to Guinea, Senegal, Gambia energy crisis in sight
Households and the business environment
in Guinea, Senegal and The Gambia are increasingly plagued by frequent
power outages, to such a degree that it has become a top political
issue. Now, technicians from the Gambia River Basin Development
Organisation, OMVG, promise that a "final solution" to the regional
energy crisis is in sight.
The OMVG has presented a report on its
progress at a seminar held by the Gambian Department of State for Water
Resources in Banjul, 'The Point' reports. Efforts to find a permanent
solution to the chronic energy deficit in the three countries and
Guinea-Bissau were "at an advanced stage," the OMVG report promised.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Justino Viera, Executive Secretary of
OMVG, had disclosed that one of the hydroelectric stations situated in
Sambangalou, Senegal, has an installed capacity of 128 MW, while the
other in Kaleta in Guinea has an installed capacity of 240 MW,
according to 'The Point' reporters Madi Nije and Bakary Samateh. An
interconnection between the national electricity networks of the
countries was also close to be completed, Mr Viera said.
The four countries grouped in the OMVG have experienced increasing
problems satisfying the growing demand for electricity in their growing
economies. Except for the large Gambia River Basin project, few
investments have been made on a regional basis.
In several countries, the deteriorating electricity supply has even led
to political complications. In The Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh has
declared the energy sector a number-one priority and after firing
several responsible ministers, he himself took over the Energy Ministry
earlier this year, promising quick improvements. So far, President
Jammeh has not been able to deliver.
In Senegal, which is heading towards a tough election campaign over the
2007 presidential polls, President Abdoulaye Wade has faced much
criticism for the failure to secure electricity supply. Urban centres
of Senegal, as in The Gambia, have become used to a relatively stable
power supply over the last decades, but Dakar households and businesses
have been shaken by a growing number of outages this year, creating
anti-Wade sentiments before the polls.
In Guinea Conakry and Guinea-Bissau, on the other hand, a very unstable
power supply for decades has crippled businesses and hindered
investments. For the two countries, the OMVG could mean real and
measurable steps forward to investments and economic growth.
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