Nams Blow Their Mind Over Nawec!

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
January 12, 2004
Posted to the web January 12, 2004

By S.b. Camara
Banjul

The state-run National Water and Electricity Company (Nawec) has not found
any favourable words in the National Assembly, relating to its services for
the Gambian public.

Members of the National Assembly last week expressed utter dissatisfaction
with what they described as the inefficiency of the state's energy and
water provider, with some going as far as casting doubts over its future
while others advocate for its activities to be closely scrutinised.

Honourable Eliman Secka member for Niamina complained to colleagues that
the state of the institution has graduated from being bad to being worse as
is evident in the inadequacy of water and electricity supplies to homes and
businesses. In some of the strongest words used to write off the water and
electricity company Honourable Secka described Nawec as "a dead horse that
should be laid to rest". He said Nawec's chronic epileptic state is
astounding considering the volume of investment on it by the state, which
he said is honestly geared towards improving its delivery and response to
the growing demand for electricity and water in an expanding
population. "Unfortunately, with its current state I honestly doubt if
Nawec can deliver what the president has promised Gambians. It's just like
an old horse that has been used to a point of exhaustion. All that seemed
to be left of it is only fit to be laid to rest," he observed amidst
laughter.

"I tell you, Nawec will never be successful. In fact anytime you make
efforts to better its services, it becomes worse! It has completely failed,
and that is the end of it" he added.

The Honourable member observed that Nawec is so overwhelmed by crisis that
it cannot provide effective twenty-four hour uninterrupted water and
electricity supplies. "This is serious because in a country like ours
yearning for industrial development, energy supply should be efficient and
reliable. But how can factories function when energy is permanently
fluctuating and out of supply? How can we succeed in industralization. This
is another setback to our economic activities," he enquired in a tone
tinged with despair.

He argued that despite the arrival of 18 Megawatts generators, there has
been no improvement in the service delivery of the country's only water and
electricity provider.

Honourable Halifa Sallah, the Minority leader and member for Serrekunda
Central, warned that problems bedeviling the nation like that experienced
as a result of Nawec's inefficiency will be intractable unless the National
Assembly strengthens the committees established to scrutinise public
institutions.

"We can have a special committee on Nawec, invite its Director, (in the
absence of an SOS) scrutinise the institution, find out what its problems
are, make inputs before determining whether the institution is viable. This
is what we can do to start addressing the chronic problems in that
institution," Honourable Sallah told his colleagues.

Meanwhile, digressing on the arrest and detention of National Assembly
members, Honourable Sallah said the National Assembly should develop a code
of conduct "and once we agree on that code of conduct, we can come up with
a legislation on immunity that no member of the National Assembly should be
arrested unless they (the authorities) come back to this National Assembly
and tell us that it's a breach of the established code of conduct".

He said this could be followed by an immunity waiver in respect of the
member in question as part of the process to prepare him to face the
law. "This is within our jurisdiction as elected law makers," he said,
before adding: "essentially though we must protect our own integrity.

This means that we should abide by a code of conduct, which will ensure
that we are worthy of being respected, we are worthy of immunity.

Immunity should not be a license to escape the law, it should be a means of
conserving our integrity and dignity so that we can serve the people".


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