505 15 Energy minister warns against illegal sale of fuel

The minister of Energy, Sira Wally Ndow-Njie has warned staff of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) involved in selling fuel belonging to the company to stop such acts.

The minister made these remarks during her recent nationwide tour of facilities under her ministry, which accorded her the opportunity to meet with NAWEC staff. Minister Ndow-Njie revealed that it is to her knowledge that some NAWEC staff are selling the fuel being supplied to the provincial stations, adding that it has to stop because if anyone is caught stealing the fuel, the person will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the land. "The fuel is for the generators and not for me, you the NAWEC staff or any other individual but for the people of The Gambia and we are servants of the Gambian people," she remarked.

The Energy minister emphasized that unscrupulous illegal fuel dealers will not be allowed to spoil the good deeds done by the honest staff of the Company, saying, "it is time that they stop because they have agents who are watching all the transactions in the facilities of the Company". She also reminded them that they are the servants of the people of The Gambia and that the president wants to see that the whole country is electrified, noting that in order to achieve that desire, there need to be honesty and hard work to ensure that the dream of nationwide electricity coverage comes true.

Minister Ndow-Njie also announced that NAWEC will add two more hours to the existing hours they use to supply electricity in the provinces, explaining that it is for security reasons. According to her, the chiefs and governors she visited during the tour made an appeal for the extension of the electricity supply hours that NAWEC gives in the provinces.