The Gambia Telecommunications Company Limited (GAMTEL) is on the brink of privatisation, but critical questions remain unanswered—chief among them: who will settle the D197 million debt owed to the company by government institutions and state-owned enterprises? As the government moves to finalise a contract with an unnamed private partner, a damning audit report reveals years of unpaid arrears, political interference, and systemic failures that have left the national telecoms provider financially crippled and structurally adrift. More in this feature report.

As more than 700 employees of Gamtel and Gamcel brace for redundancy under a World Bank-backed reform plan, newly obtained documents reveal over D13.4 million in unremitted staff contributions to the Gamtel Credit Union—exposing deep financial irregularities within the state-run telecom giants. The missing funds, deducted from employee salaries but never transferred, have fueled growing outrage among workers already facing delayed pay and uncertain futures. More in the report.

The Gambia’s Finance Minister, Hon. Seedy S. Keita, came under intense pressure from lawmakers to deliver a more comprehensive budget implementation report, including detailed expenditure breakdowns for each Ministry. However, Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta appeared to shield the Minister from deeper scrutiny and failed to demand an overdue budget implementation report on the 2024 budget, which should have been presented during the First Ordinary Session. More in our feature report.

President Barrow’s recent claim that the World Bank allocated $6.4 million to compensate laid-off Gamtel and Gamcel staff contradicts an earlier statement by the Finance Minister, who cited a $10 million bailout—raising fresh questions about transparency and the true scope of the government’s restructuring plan. More in this factcheck report.

The Gambia’s trade deficit reached a record D64.6 billion in 2024, driven largely by a dramatic 70% surge in imports from neighboring Senegal, which rose from D8.5 billion to D14.4 billion, according to the Gambia Bureau of Statistics. The data highlights deepening cross-border trade ties but also signals growing economic dependence on external markets. More in the feature report.

GAMTEL staff say their May 2025 salaries were delayed to after the Tobaski holiday — despite a $10 million World Bank package announced months earlier to support the struggling state-owned enterprise. As frustrations mount, two senior government ministers have issued conflicting explanations about donor funds being used to pay SOE salaries, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and where the money actually went. More in this FactCheck.

After months of delays and repeated absences, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon. Seedy Keita, is once again scheduled to appear before the National Assembly to deliver a long-overdue oral statement on the full implementation and monitoring of the 2024 and the first quarter of the 2025 national budget. More in the report.

In a major boost to national transport, the Kanilai Ferry has resumed service after more than a year out of operation—now completing the Banjul–Barra crossing in just 25 minutes, a dramatic improvement from the hour-long trips commuters previously endured. More in the publication.

As Gamtel and its mobile arm, Gamcel, press forward with a multi-phase restructuring initiative aimed at transforming the state-owned telecom giants, long-serving contract staff are sounding the alarm over potential exclusion from the plan’s benefits. More in this feature publication.

As the public eagerly anticipates the introduction of pedestrian flyovers on the newly inaugurated OIC Highway to ensure safer crossings, the Minister for Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, Hon. Ebrima Sillah, has announced that the government will construct only one pedestrian flyover as part of a pilot initiative. More in the report.