By Anna Marie Valentine
The Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Honorable Nani Juwara last week received a Memento from the Indian Government through the International Solar Alliance (ISA) based in India. The memento was in commemoration of the excellent job done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the commissioning of the solar water pumping systems in community gardens in Wassadou and Siffoe. ISA provided a $50,000 grant for this project which was geared toward providing susutainable water supply to these women’s gardens. The grant was used in the commissioning of the solar water pumping systems in these two women’s gardens.
“We recently commissioned a project at these two communities that have gone through a lot of challenges in terms of having access to water but through the support from ISA these projects have been successfully commissioned,” Hon. Juwara stated. He continued: “We had a meeting with the Director General of ISA, who promised us additional support in implementing additional projects in The Gambia. We have submitted a project proposal and he is very passionate and keen to make sure that project is implemented.”
Access to water has been a major challenge in many rural communities and it affects daily living and limits agricultural productivity, which is the backbone of many families. The women’s gardens in Wassadou and Siffoe are the first benefactors of the ISA support and the Ministry is hopeful that more communities will benefit from the support from ISA. The International Solar Alliance is a collaborative international platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies and a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security and driving energy transition in its member countries. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is the Gambian partner institution of the International Solar Alliance. It manages all its projects, including solar-powered water pumping systems.
