August 2021
Factsheet: Gambia’s Debt To GDP Ratio Has Declined, But Does It Mean Prez Barrow Has Not Been Borrowing?
In his recent interview with the State of Affairs television programme on QTV, the Gambian leader Adama Barrow suggested his government has managed the country’s debt well by reducing it. “Our debt to GDP used to be 120%. Today, it is around 77%,” said President Barrow as he recounts his achievements. Rebasing of GDP It is accurate that Gambia’s public debt to GDP ratio was at 120% by the end of 2016. It is also correct that the current debt to GDP ratio is at 77.2%, according to the International Monetary Fund. But after the regime change in 2017, the government of Adama Barrow rebased the GDP, which led to a revision of the...
July 2021
The Gambia’s Water Paradox: How A Country With Plentiful Water Resources Is Failing To Provide Safe Water To Its People
Bintou Kijera was exhausted. Neither she nor her three-year-old daughter had slept the previous night: the little girl was simply too sick. The two were at The Gambia’s second biggest hospital, Serekunda General Hospital, where the toddler had been diagnosed with diarrhoea. “I have changed her diapers more than four times,” the young woman said, pointing at the pale and malnourished looking girl mounted on her back. Neither Kijera nor the nurse who diagnosed the condition of her daughter could say for certain what caused her diarrhoea. “I don’t actually know whether it is caused by the food she ate or the water she...
June 2021
Is Gambia gov’t truthful about “honorarium” to MOJ officials?
Criticisms over the alleged receipt of US$200, 000 payment from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation by officials of the Justice Ministry has brought to fore a public scrutiny of payment of honorarium in central government, something which is widespread yet not guided by any regulations or Act of Parliament.
Inside Malagasy ‘Miracle Covid Cure’ Donation that Costs Gambia D2.2M.
The Gambia government authorities claim to have paid more than D2.2 million to transport only three boxes of the Malagasy Covid-19 herbal medicine from Guinea Bissau - less than an hour away by flight from Banjul. Our Investigation reveals that the instructions came from the State House, and the authorities appeared to have sidelined key oversight institutions while disregarding the laws and regulations on public spending, especially on matters dealing with Covid-19 expenditures. One year on, the ‘miracle cure’ for Covid-19 continues to gather dust in the medical stores, and questions are now being raised about possible fraud. “I don’t believe...