By Adama Makasuba
Dr Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay has appealed to Gambians to bear with the government amid ongoing electricity disruptions, insisting that authorities are doing everything possible to stabilise power supply and prevent further hardship during the Eid-ulAdha period.
Speaking at a government joint press conference on the recent wave of blackouts across the country, Ceesay said neither the government nor NAWEC stands to benefit from citizens suffering without electricity, stressing that uninterrupted power remains the administration’s goal. “Our wish is for every Gambian to enjoy their Tabaski,” Ceesay said.
“What do we gain from making sure that Gambians suffer? It’s not good for us politically. If we were to decide, nobody would go without electricity in this country.”
The minister attributed the current challenges partly to aging infrastructure, arguing that the government inherited an electricity and water system that had suffered decades of underinvestment before President Adama Barrow took office.
“We inherited a bad system. We have not made any significant investment in electricity and water in this country for the past 30, 40, 50 years,” he said, adding that more than 50 megawatts have been added to the national grid since 2017.
Dr Ceesay acknowledged public frustration over the timing of the outages, particularly as Muslims prepare for Tabaski celebrations, but maintained that technical failures can occur unexpectedly.
“The machine doesn’t know whether it’s Tabaski or Christmas,” he said. “The equipment doesn’t know that.” Drawing comparisons with previous national challenges, the minister pointed to the ferry crisis that once dominated public debate but was eventually resolved.
“When the ferry crisis started, there was so much news about the ferry. Today, who’s talking about the ferry?” he asked. “The most important thing is that we are a government that listens, and we are going to solve this problem very soon.”
He urged the public to remain patient, assuring citizens that government interventions are underway and expressing confidence that the electricity crisis will eventually become “a thing of the past.”
Ceesay further noted that no country is immune from challenges, saying governments are often required to respond to unexpected difficulties while continuing to provide services to citizens.
His remarks come amid growing public concern over recurring blackouts that have affected households, businesses and institutions across several parts of the country in recent days.
