The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice is deeply concerned and outraged following the revelation of a letter written by the Managing Director of the Gambia Ports authority Ousman Jobarteh to the Turkish company Albayrak seeking financing from Zenith Bank. Dated the 15th October 2025, MD Jobarteh raised objection at not only was Albayrak seeking the loan facility without the knowledge of the GPA but also the process violated the Concession Agreement.
The revelation that Albayrak attempted to use the Banjul Port as collateral for a loan is not only scandalous, but it is also an affront to national sovereignty and a violation of public trust. No foreign entity should ever have the audacity, let alone the opportunity, to leverage a strategic national asset in pursuit of private financing. This act alone justifies the immediate termination of the contract with Albayrak.
When the Government of The Gambia announced this partnership, it justified the decision on the claim that Albayrak possessed the financial and technical capacity to modernize the Banjul Port while building a new port facility in Sanyang. Today, that narrative has collapsed. If Albayrak were truly financially capable, it would not be seeking loans, much less proposing to pledge a sovereign asset as collateral.
Even more disturbing is the fact that this attempt was made without the knowledge or consent of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA). The written objection by the GPA Managing Director confirms that Albayrak acted insincerely, and behind the back of its own contractual partner. Such behaviour amounts to bad faith and constitutes grounds for immediate contract termination.
Albayrak’s claim that the proposed Sanyang port would be financed from the proceeds of the Banjul Port further exposes the parasitic nature of the arrangement. It reveals a model in which a private investor intends to use Gambian wealth to build new assets for itself, while extracting profits from a public institution that is already lucrative.
The Banjul Port is not failing. It is profitable, and it would thrive under strong corporate governance and competent management. If inefficiencies exist, they stem not from the nature of the port itself, but from failures within the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance, the GPA leadership, and most critically, the oversight failures of the National Assembly.
The Banjul Port is a national heritage. It is an economic, social, cultural, and political pillar of Gambian life. To dispose of it for 30 years in a concession that benefits a foreign operator at the expense of the Gambian people is economically irrational, politically irresponsible, and morally indefensible. It constitutes an economic crime.
Therefore, EFSCRJ demands:
- Immediate termination of the Albayrak contract.
- Restoration of full control of the Banjul Port to the Gambian state.
- Public disclosure of the full Concession Agreement.
- Parliamentary inquiry into the conduct of involved officials.
- Institutional reforms to protect all strategic national assets.
The Gambian people must defend their heritage. This is not merely about a contract. It is about sovereignty, dignity, and intergenerational justice and wealth. No public official has the mandate to mortgage the national future.
Banjul Port belongs to Gambians.
2025 – The Year of Transparency and Accountability
