Gambia: Barrow Lays The Foundation Stone For The EX Jammeh Govt/Bazzi 20 MW Brikama Power Project

Dear Pa,
I would like to commend you for the good work you are doing to enlighten and educate the Gambia population.
Today, we saw President Barrow laying the foundation stone for a 20 MW extension to Brikama Power Station. This is a welcome development towards addressing the chronic electricity problem supply the Gambia has been grappling with decades. But it’s important that the genesis and the facts about this project be elaborated for all to know.


This project was finalized and signed in 2016 by the former Managing Director of Nawec, Mr. Ebrima Sanyang. The contractor is Global Trading Group, a company owned by Mr. Muhammed Bazzi, a close associate of the former president, and a principal witness to the Janneh commission.
It’s the GTG, who were awarded the 12 MW generator project in 2016 during former MD Sanyang’s time. This project is presently under construction at the Kotu power station, and was recently visited by HE Barrow.

The Brikama project was supposed to start in July 2017, but due to the massive delay of the Kotu Project, it could not start. Just as in the case the Kotu project, NAWEC and the government is yet again engaged in cheap publicity stunt to try to deflect people’s attention from the stack realities on the ground. The laying of the foundation stone at this time is a facade and cosmetic.
It is important for the Gambians to know that the Kotu and Brikama projects were initiated, developed, negotiated, financing completed, and contracts entered by the former Managing Director Ebrima Sanyang during the APRC government. It’s imperative that HE Barrow and his coalition partners desist from politicizing the electricity sector. The development of the Gambia is a process and incremental; governments comes and add on to the building block. 

The fact of the matter is that HE Barrow’s coalition government has not started any project since it came to power. The international conference center, the Trans-Gambia bridge, Lamin Koto Passimus Road, the Kotu 12MW and Brikama 20 MW projects were all started by the former government.
NAWEC management and the HE Barrow’s coalition government must understand that solving the electricity problems goes beyond celebrating the addition of 30 MW. The thought that once the 12 MW at Kotu is online our currently electricity problems are history is misplaced and totally naive.
Written By An insider