By: Nyima Sillah
The Secretary-General and Leader of All Peoples Party (APP), Ebou Gaye, has said the inadequate electricity and water supply is the main factor pushing away some investors from investing in the Gambia.
“No country can develop without reliable and cost-effective electricity that is not possible because you cannot use a private generator for your business. It is not profitable and is costly. So, availability and accessibility to reliable energy is vital and that is what brings development,” Mr. Gaye said.
He added: “Outside investors first put that into consideration before they invest as investors compete with each other in other countries and no investor would want to invest in a country that has issues with energy supply.”
Mr. Gaye pointed out that if electricity and water are not reliable, it will make it difficult for investors to control their cost and production, adding that this would also affect their chance of competition with other investors in different countries with the same businesses.
Taking reference from intermittent power outages during the Eid period, Mr. Gaye recalled how people experience poor supply of both water and electricity which hinders so many businesses as the majority of business owners rely on Eid sales to make more earnings and feed their families.
“Some sit for hours without a chance to work. This results in poor earnings and a huge disappointment for many business owners,” Gaye told The Voice.
The APP leader opined that the issue of electricity is not a one-step solution but a combination of strategies and one of which he said is the use of renewable energy.
He suggested that Africa integration is also one way of opening up and attracting investors by having industries in the Gambia, but was quick to say stable electricity supply and portal water are primarily important to the country’s industrialisation.
“To have a stable energy supply we need to explore renewable energy like solar. It is only then we can move forward, and with the APP government, all those sectors will be explored and the integration of Africa would be a primary concern for the APP government,” Gaye said.
He added: “Our population is small because of industrialisation, and there are a lot of issues and challenges regarding industrialisation.”
