Dr Gajigo, Economic Deep Dive, Politics Askanwi Gambia Dr Gajigo, Economic Deep Dive, Politics Askanwi Gambia

Economic Deep Dive: Denying Reality and Failing at Governing

Opposition leader, economist and agripreneur Dr Ousman Gajigo criticises the government’s failure to govern and face the reality. In his latest piece, he believes that the government is “increasingly out of touch with reality” and “persistently claiming the opposite of what real people are experiencing every single day”.

According to Dr Gajigo, “Over the past couple of months, the country has been facing food security challenges, a migrant crisis, and health sector problems. Yet officials in the Adama Barrow government would have you disbelieve your own eyes.”

More in the opinion piece.

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Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo Askanwi Gambia Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo Askanwi Gambia

Economic Deep Dive: The Avoidable Cement Crisis and False Excuses

Economist and politician Dr Ousman Gajigo opines that recent statements from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Regional Integration (MOTIE) and Jah Oil Company regarding the cement crisis are false.

Although he notes that the statements are quite similar in their purported explanation, Dr Gajigo believes that both statements provided a false explanation for a completely avoidable cement crisis situation.

More in this opinion piece.

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Economic Deep Dive: NAWEC & Karpowership, Billions Wasted

Newspapers recently reported that the government of The Gambia still owes Karpowership an arrear of $19.6 million. That amount is nothing compared to what the government of Adama Barrow has squandered in its dealings with this company. Karpowership is a Turkish company that owns a fleet of ships from which it sells electricity – basically an electricity company with floating power plants. The government of The Gambia bought electricity from this company for seven years between 2018 and 2024. More in this opinion piece.

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Economic Deep Dive: Government’s Groundnut Price is Too Low

The Gambian government’s decision to set the 2025/2026 groundnut purchase price at D38,000 per tonne has sparked criticism from agricultural economist Dr. Ousman Gajigo, who says the rate leaves farmers underpaid and accelerates the steady collapse of groundnut production. More in this expert opinion.

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Editorial, Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo, Politics Askanwi Gambia Editorial, Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo, Politics Askanwi Gambia

Economic Deep Dive: Health Sector Reality Versus President Barrow

It is easy to differentiate a serious government from an incompetent one. One way of doing so is to see how they respond to valid criticisms. The response of President Barrow to concerns about the current deplorable state of healthcare in The Gambia leaves no doubt as to which kind of government he is leading. The reality is that everyone in the country knows that the average Gambian does not have access to affordable and quality healthcare. More in this editorial.

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Economic Deep Dive: Vegetable Gardening, The Forgotten Agriculture

Across the country, women gardeners continue to coax life out of parched soils and ageing wells, yet their contribution to national food security barely registers in official planning. Vegetable gardening remains the forgotten pillar of Gambian agriculture. More in this opinion piece.

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Economic Deep Dive: PURA and Quality of Service Regulation

As public frustration over deteriorating mobile services reaches new heights, PURA’s failure to enforce its own quality-of-service regulations has emerged as a central cause of the crisis. The regulator’s long-standing negligence—marked by years without published monitoring reports—has left mobile operators unaccountable and consumers bearing the consequences. More in this opinion peice.

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Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo, Politics Askanwi Gambia Economic Deep Dive, Dr Gajigo, Politics Askanwi Gambia

Economic Deep Dive: The Fake Constitutional Reform

What was presented as a fresh start for The Gambia’s democracy has instead proved to be a calculated political manoeuvre. The Barrow administration’s so-called constitutional reform—framed as an escape from the 1997 Constitution—was ultimately a draft designed to consolidate the president’s power. With its rejection in the National Assembly, it is clear the government’s agenda was never about strengthening democracy but about protecting one man’s political future. More in this opinion piece.

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Economic Deep Dive: Failure in Agriculture and the Forgotten Groundnut Farmers

Dr. Ousman Gajigo provides a detailed and investigative look into the challenges facing The Gambia’s agriculture sector, following visits to several regions where he observed firsthand how farmers are struggling amid the sector’s decline. More in this revealing report.

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