• $225m World Bank-funded initiative connects 490 localities in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali
•Mali seeks extension as ECOWAS holds closing steering committee assembly in Abuja
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stated its $225 million Regional Electricity Access Project has prolonged electrical energy entry to practically 500,000 folks throughout 490 localities in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.
The achievement was disclosed on the tenth and closing Steering Committee assembly of the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOWAS-REAP), which opened in Abuja on Tuesday to assessment implementation progress and decide measures for guaranteeing the sustainability of the undertaking.
The World Bank-financed initiative is designed to increase electrical energy entry in underserved communities throughout the three nations, as a part of efforts to deepen regional vitality integration and enhance residing situations in West Africa.
Speaking on the assembly, the Director of Energy and Mines on the ECOWAS Commission and Chairman of the Steering Committee, Arkadius Koumoin, acknowledged the numerous progress recorded regardless of challenges that affected implementation, together with the COVID-19 pandemic and institutional disruptions.
He, nonetheless, confused the necessity for concrete choices and actions to guarantee accountable closure of the undertaking, noting that its success ought to in the end be measured by the variety of households successfully related to electrical energy.
Koumoin’s place highlights the significance of translating infrastructure investments into precise electrical energy entry for communities, fairly than measuring efficiency solely by accomplished undertaking actions.
The Managing Director of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), The Gambia, Gallo Saidy; the consultant of Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry answerable for Energy, Pedro Jeus de Oliviera; and Mali’s National Director of Energy, Oussouby Mary dit Ousmane Diarra, reaffirmed their dedication to finishing excellent undertaking actions.
However, Mali referred to as for an extension to allow it to full its excellent work, underscoring the necessity to deal with implementation gaps earlier than the undertaking’s closing closure.
The assembly is anticipated to present a chance for collaborating nations and the ECOWAS Commission to agree on the excellent actions required to consolidate the beneficial properties of the initiative and be sure that beneficiaries proceed to take pleasure in dependable electrical energy entry.
