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🇿🇦 South Africa /Culture & Society

Gambia protesters burn tyres to denounce power cuts

From Daily Maverick · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Protesters burned tyres and erected barricades in and around Banjul, demanding President Adama Barrow leave office over prolonged electricity outages.
  • Some residents reported blackouts lasting up to 48 hours, while the government blamed record demand, equipment failures and reduced hydropower production.
  • Barrow promised new generators this week, electricity restoration by the end of October and further generation capacity, including a planned 50-megawatt solar plant.

Smoke rose over Banjul as protesters burned tyres, built barricades and shouted, “Barrow must go!” Police used tear gas overnight to disperse crowds gathered in several locations, including near President Adama Barrow’s official residence.

The demonstrations reflected anger over power cuts that some residents said had lasted as long as 48 hours. In Farato, protesters gathered outside Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow’s residence and destroyed banners at an office of the ruling National People’s Party.

Barrow must go!

· ProtestersProtesters shouted the slogan during demonstrations over prolonged power cuts.

Barrow acknowledged the hardship in a televised address. “I know that the fans have stopped turning, children work in the dark, mothers throw away stale food, and the heat is unbearable by day and by night,” he said. He attributed the crisis to record electricity demand, failures at major generating units and seasonal conditions that had reduced hydropower production.

I know that the fans have stopped turning, children work in the dark, mothers throw away stale food, and the heat is unbearable by day and by night.

· Adama BarrowThe Gambian president described the hardship caused by the electricity outages in a televised address.

Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay said officials were “working relentlessly to restore stability and improve the reliability of electricity supply as soon as possible.” He apologised to those affected and said the government recognised the frustration, anger and hardship caused by the outages.

Barrow visited the National Water and Electricity Company facilities on Tuesday and promised new generators this week. He also said electricity would be restored by the end of October, an additional 24-megawatt machine was in the final installation stage, and the government had awarded a contract for a 50-megawatt solar plant.

Working relentlessly to restore stability and improve the reliability of electricity supply as soon as possible.

· Ismaila CeesayThe information minister described the government’s response to the power crisis.

NAWEC had warned of an unforeseen surge in peak-period demand caused by high temperatures and reported a technical incident involving a major generating unit on the import side. It said load shedding would affect several parts of the country, without giving dates. By Tuesday morning, traffic in Banjul had returned to normal, and some young protesters helped extinguish fires and remove barricades.

There is no light everywhere. There is no light. People have been crying about electricity.

· Ousainu JammehA Banjul resident described the conditions that prompted him to join the protests.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Maverick. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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