By Stella Odueme
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has commenced its 10th and final Steering Committee meeting of the Regional Electricity Access Project (ECOWAS-REAP), aimed at ensuring the successful completion and sustainability of electricity connections in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.
According to a statement on Wednesday, the $225 million project, financed by the World Bank, has provided electricity access to about 490 localities, benefiting nearly 500,000 people across the three countries.
Speaking at the meeting in Abuja, the Director of Energy and Mines and Chairman of the Steering Committee, Mr Arkadius Koumoin, commended the progress recorded despite challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and institutional disruptions.
Koumoin urged stakeholders to take concrete decisions and actions to ensure a responsible closure of the project, stressing that its success would ultimately be measured by the effective connection of households to electricity.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of The Gambia's National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), Mr Gallo Saidy; Guinea-Bissau's representative at the Ministry in charge of Energy, Mr Pedro Jeus de Oliviera; and Mali's National Director of Energy, Mr Oussouby Mary dit Ousmane Diarra, reaffirmed their commitment to completing the outstanding work.
However, Mali called for an extension of the project to enable it to achieve its objectives.
The ECOWAS Commission said the initiative forms part of its broader efforts to deepen regional energy integration and advance the ECOWAS Vision 2050 agenda.
It added that the project is translating regional investments into tangible improvements in electricity access and the living conditions of households across West Africa.