The Price of Being a Citizen: Capitalizing on the National ID Card Application Process
President Barrow and Interior Minister Launch National ID Card © Unknown
By Askanwi Media
A National ID Card may officially cost D450, and its application forms may officially be free; however, our investigation has revealed that the cost of paying for a National ID Card was actually more than announced.
According to the Gambia Immigration Department (GID), applicants who paid for their National ID Cards and enrolled at their offices should be able to acquire one within 10 minutes; however, our reporters have had to endure two weeks of constant follow-ups before one of them could acquire their ID Card.
The experience of most Gambians is that the real cost of obtaining proof of their identity is measured not only in dalasis but also in time, transport, data, access to technology, information, and repeated journeys through an administrative maze.
This frustrating process led to Askanwi Media receiving complaints from multiple individuals about significant delays and alleged attempts to capitalize on the National ID Card application process in mid-August 2026.
In response to the complaints, Askanwi Media reporters visited two Ecobank Gambia branches and two GID branches to independently observe the process of paying for and obtaining a National ID Card.
Our investigation found that, at the Ecobank Senegambia branch, applicants were being encouraged to make payments through the Ecobank Mobile App and not being allowed to pay over the counter. However, when our reporter visited Ecobank’s main branch on Kairaba Avenue, the reporter was allowed to make the payment over the counter without being directed to use the mobile application.
The difference in the payment experience prompted our reporters to raise questions about whether applicants are being given adequate payment options and whether the process is being applied consistently across Ecobank branches.
After confirming this, our reporter managed to get footage of an Ecobank staff member at their Senegambia branch turning our reporter away and refusing to allow them to pay over the counter. Instead, our reporter was urged to pay via the Ecobank Mobile Application.
Askanwi managed to communicate with Ecobank’s senior management staff for clarification and to seek the bank’s response to our footage. During the course of the investigation, our reporters had one meeting each with the Ecobank Senegambia Branch Manager and senior officials at the Ecobank Kairaba Branch, which serves as their headquarters. After our meetings we received a written response to our questions from Ecobank.
As part of our investigation, we interviewed the GID’s Acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ansumana Cham, and presented him with footage recorded at the Ecobank Senegambia branch. The interview provided an opportunity to seek clarification from the Immigration Department regarding the payment process and other concerns raised during our investigation.
Our reporters subsequently visited the GID’s offices in Brusubi and Kanifing, near the Ministry of Higher Education. At both locations, our reporters were unable to obtain or submit an application form for almost a week because officials had stopped distributing the available hard-copy forms for the day.
The limited availability of hard-copy forms appears to have created an opportunity for some individuals to offer the forms to applicants for a fee once the GID’s supply for the day has run out.
The practice raises questions about access, transparency, and whether applicants who arrive after the daily allocation of forms has been exhausted are being unfairly disadvantaged or exposed to additional costs.
Askanwi Media will publish the full details of our investigation, including the responses from the GID’s Acting PRO, Mr. Ansumana Cham, and Ecobank.
The responses will provide further context to the concerns raised by applicants and the observations made by our reporters during the investigation.
Follow Askanwi Media for the full investigation and the responses from the GID and Ecobank.
The first part of the investigation is scheduled for publication tomorrow, 28th September 2026, from 12 midday.
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