The Gambia Electricity Access Project (GEAP) aims to increase the Gambian population's access to affordable and reliable electricity services. It's designed to address not only the country's needs in terms of power infrastructure development, but also the weaknesses of the sector's institutional framework and the related poor technical capacity and financial standing of most of the power sector players through institutional development and capacity building activities. The project does not include investments in the expansion of the power generation capacity, but instead addresses the current strain to access in both rural and urban areas through grid expansion to make use of the affordable and reliable renewable capacity from OMVG interconnection. The GEAP involves the construction of Medium and Low Voltage lines, erection of transformers and connection of customers in Lower River, North Bank, Central River, and West Coast regions. It consists of three main components: (1) extension of electricity distribution infrastructure, (2) project implementation management and (3) institutional development and capacity building.

The ultimate objective of this project is to contribute to improve the Gambian population's living conditions by increasing access to affordable and reliable electricity services and empowering NAWEC and project areas communities.More specifically, the project will: (i) provide people access to electricity by connecting households and businesses; (ii) avoid CO2emissions; and (iii) create jobs and stimulate the local economy.

The sixty one thousand (61,000) beneficiaries of the project will be households (including women headed households), small businesses, and public institutions (local governments, elementary, high schools, and health centers) in urban and rural areas: approximately 22,000 customers in Lower River region; 18,000 in North Bank region; 15,000 in Central River region, and 6,000 in West Coast region. In addition, the project will reduce the customers' connection charges by providing last-mile connection equipment (including prepaid meters) enabling poor households connection and management of their own consumption without the risk of the physical disconnection process that can arise because of unpaid monthly bills. Finally, the project activities will ultimately improve NAWEC's operational efficiency and revenue base, which will in turn help improve the financial position of the sector and eventually result in lower end user tariffs.

TOURE Minkailou Halidou

m.h.toure@afdb.org

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF AfDB

The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), which is administered by the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an African Development Bank (AfDB)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the IRM, it may assist you by either seeking to address your problems by facilitating a dispute resolution dialogue between you and those implementing the project and/or investigating whether the AfDB complied with its policies to prevent environmental and social harms. You can submit a complaint electronically by emailing crmuinfo@afdb.org, b.kargougou@afdb.org, b.fall@afdb.org, and/or s.toure@afdb.org. You can learn more about the IRM and how to file a complaint at https://www.afdb.org/en/independent-review-mechanism/.