The Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) has thrown its full weight behind Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), endorsing a major peaceful national protest scheduled for Friday, 19 June 2026, at the NAWEC Headquarters in Westfield.
In a strongly worded statement released Tuesday, EFSCRJ described the demonstration as a “legitimate and necessary civic action” to demand reliable, affordable, and quality electricity and utility services for all Gambians. The organization highlighted the country’s chronic power outages, unreliable supply, and repeated service failures as “unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
“For decades, Gambians have endured inadequate public services while successive institutions continue to offer endless excuses, shifting narratives, and promises that fail to deliver meaningful improvements,” the statement said. It argued that the electricity crisis is not merely technical but “fundamentally a governance problem” rooted in poor planning, inefficiency, weak accountability, mismanagement, and leadership failure despite substantial public funds and international support.
EFSCRJ urged all citizens, irrespective of political affiliation, profession, age, gender, or social status, to participate peacefully. “Good governance and sustainable development cannot flourish in the absence of active and vigilant citizens,” it stressed. “The future of The Gambia depends on a conscious, informed, and patriotic citizenry willing to defend its rights.”
The statement painted a broader picture of institutional failure since independence. Public utilities, it noted, are established by law, funded by taxpayers, supported by development partners, and staffed by well-remunerated officials, yet they consistently fall short of expected performance and accountability standards.
“The time has come for citizens to peacefully and lawfully confront public institutions with a clear demand: deliver services efficiently, transparently, and in accordance with the law,” EFSCRJ declared. “Public office is a responsibility, not a privilege.”
Organizers expect the protest to draw large crowds, sending a clear message that Gambians will no longer remain silent over poor utility services. NAWEC is yet to issue a formal response to the planned demonstration.
