FactCheck: Delayed GAMTEL Salaries Raise Doubts Over $10M World Bank Funds
Finance Minister Seedy Keita © Askanwi Media
By Edward Francis Dalliah
Staff of GAMTEL have lodged complaints with Askanwi Media over significant delays in receiving their May 2025 salaries—just days before the Tobaski holiday. This delay has sparked public concern, especially in light of a previous announcement by the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA), Hon. Seedy Keita, who stated that the World Bank had disbursed $10 million in support of GAMTEL back in December 2024.
However, in a seemingly contradictory statement, the Minister of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure (MoTWI), Hon. Ebrima Sillah, asserted that donors do not fund salaries for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). This claim was made during his appearance on the popular show Coffee Time with Peter Gomez on West Coast Radio on 27th May 2025.
The Claim:
Responding to growing concerns over the potential privatisation of SOEs like the Gambia Ports Authority and Civil Aviation Authority, Minister Sillah declared:
“No donor will give you money to be able to pay for the salaries of SOEs.”
“In some cases, government has no choice but to come up with mitigating factors to pay their salaries and their expenses and then take over their debts—toxic debts, for that matter.”
You can watch his full statement from the 3-minute mark in the video linked here.
The conflicting statements from the two senior cabinet ministers—and the continued delays in salary payments—have raised questions: What happened to the $10 million World Bank support?
Fact Check:
At the heart of this controversy are the GAMTEL/GAMCEL staff, who have been protesting for months over delayed and unpaid wages. The issue gained renewed public attention after staff members revealed to Askanwi Media that their May salaries were only disbursed after the Tobaski holiday, with some receiving their salaries today.
Interestingly, both Ministers made their statements on the same platform—Coffee Time with Peter Gomez. While Minister Sillah denied the possibility of donor funding for SOE salaries, Finance Minister Keita had earlier provided a different account. Leaving no stones unturned, our reporter unearthed the Finance Minister’s statement.
Speaking on the program on 11th March 2025, Hon. Seedy Keita revealed:
“In fact, last year we had an extra $10 million from the World Bank, over and above what we budgeted, in the form of budget support because we pleaded with them for a social package for GAMTEL and GAMCEL staff, which they raised to our request. So, we received $10 million extra.”
Watch the Finance Minister’s statement from the 17 to 19 minute mark in the video linked here.
Minister Keita explained that the funds were part of a broader $30 million budget support package provided by the World Bank, while the additional $10 million was specifically intended to cover the social package of GAMTEL and GAMCEL staff. Here is a link to the statement issued by the World Bank on the $30 million disbursement to The Gambia.
This directly contradicts Minister Sillah’s blanket statement that donors never fund SOE salaries.
Verdict:
Based on the information provided by the Finance Minister, the $10 million from the World Bank was explicitly allocated as part of a social package for GAMTEL/GAMCEL staff salaries. Therefore, Works Minister Sillah’s claim that donors do not fund SOE salaries is FALSE.
That said, the ongoing delays in salary payments suggest deeper issues within GAMTEL/GAMCEL or the government’s implementation process—issues that remain unresolved despite the World Bank’s financial intervention.
Final Verdict: FALSE—Donors, in this case the World Bank, have funded SOE salaries, contradicting the Works Minister’s statement.
