Gambian President Receives ERERA Chairman, Energy Ministers
President Adama Barrow of The Gambian on Friday, November 11, 2022 at the State House in Banjul received a high-level delegation of energy specialists headed by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy of The Gambia, Mr. Abdoulie Jobe.
The delegation included the Minister of Energy of Guinea Bissau, Mr. Augusto Paquena, the Chairman of ERERA, Mr. Laurent Tossou, the Director General of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), Mr. Yusupha Jobe, ERERA’s Legal Expert, Mr. Oumar Bangoura and PURA’s Director of Petroleum, Water and Energy, Mr. Momodou Lamin Sompo Ceesay.
The courtesy visit capped a series of activities of the seventh ERERA Electricity Regulatory Forum which ended in the Gambian capital city of Banjul on November 10, 2022.
President Barrow who held a closed-door meeting with members of the delegation was briefed on the status of the energy situation in West Africa, the role of ECOWAS energy institutions – ERERA, the West African Power Pool and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) - and Member States, as well as the achievements made.
In a press briefing after the visit, Guinea Bissau’s Minister of Energy, Augusto Paquena, expressed gratitude to the President and Government of The Gambia and its people for hosting what has been described as “the most successful and well-attended” regulatory Forum.
Mr. Paquena further expressed delight over the experiences shared and network building among the national electricity regulators, operators, and development partners who participated in the Forum.
He urged ECOWAS Member States to put into good use the knowledge and experiences shared towards improving the power situation in the ECOWAS region.
For his part, ERERA Chairman, Mr. Laurent Tossou, spoke on the imminent launch of the second and competitive phase of the regional electricity market, stating that the market would be beneficial to all market participants, including those from The Gambia.
He thanked the Government of The Gambia for the commitment and fraternal hospitality accorded the various delegations to the Forum as well as the preceding joint meeting of ERERA’s Consultative Committees of Regulators and Operators which held from November 7 and 8, 2022.
In his briefing, The Gambia’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Abdoulie Jobe, disclosed President Adama Barrow’s pleasure at the successful hosting of the seventh ERERA Forum, adding that it would strengthen the relations among ECOWAS Member States.
The minister who expressed President Barrow’s belief in an affordable, reliable and available supply of electricity for ECOWAS Community citizens, stated that such regional gatherings would go a long way towards addressing the energy insecurity in the region.
PURA’s Director-General, Mr. Yusupha Jobe, thanked all Forum participants for their contributions in ensuring a successful Forum. He equally expressed gratitude to the Government of The Gambia for its support and representation at the forum, which was the second hosted by the country.
In November 2013, The Gambia hosted the fourth ERERA Forum.
