Since last week’s ongoing controversy over the KARPOWER deal, with a different narrative from the state whenever they come out to hoodwink us, Open Gambia Platform has received Information from a trusted whistleblower revealing background information on the National Electricity and Water Company (NAWEC) deal with the Turkish Power Supply Company (KARPOWER), which led to the $19.4 million alleged arrears payment controversy made by the Finance Minister, Seedy Keita, at the House of Parliament.
The Turkish Ambassador to the Gambia refuted the claim, stating that NAWEC owes no arrears to Karpower. Leading to the Finance Minister Keita reappearing in the press to clarify that the state had obtained a loan from the Central Bank to settle KARPOWER arrears and that it now wants to use funds from the World Bank to repay the loan.
When Minister Keita faced mounting pushback on social media, demanding that the minister provide the information on which budget line was accessed where the funds came from to pay KARPOWER, he made a specific claim: that the USD 19.4 million was obtained through temporary financing from the Central Bank, a formal, lawful, and fully documented arrangement to settle the government’s arrears to Karpower.
The Finance minister’s statement was followed by media publication of a press release showing a document dated the 15th May 2025 indicating a signature of the governor of CBG Buah Saidy and the Finance minister Seedy Keita, a Memorandum of Agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank for a temporary loan of USD 19,412,661.00 to the Government of the Gambia, intended to settle outstanding arrears to KARPOWERSHIP shall come into force as of its date of signing. It will remain in force until the Nineteen Million Four Hundred and Twelve Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty-Six United States Dollars (US 19,412,661.00) and accrued interest are fully repaid to the Central Bank of The Gambia on or before December 31, 2025.
The state insider reported that the reason for the ongoing struggle with the Finance ministry is that it is unable to provide clarity, which is a confirmation of the series of reports the Open Gambia Platform is currently publishing on the CBG and of how allegedly Governor Buah is allowing Adama Barrow, Finanace minister Seedy Keita, and his ilk to run the central bank amid their ongoing abuses.
The state insider continues to allege that Governor Buah Saidy and Finance Minister Seedy Keita need to tell Gambians how much money the government is owed through MoFEA, NFPSC (GGC), NAWEC, and other Parastatals that are indebted to the Central Bank. In other words, how much more money did Governor Buah Saidy allow President Adama Barrow to take from the Central Bank’s reserves as so-called loans without any regard to the Laws governing the Central Bank?
Bearing in mind that such loans or advances to state-owned enterprises SOEs are entirely different from the usual domestic debt operations through the floating of Treasury Bills on behalf of the Government. This is a typical example of hidden Debt or off-balance-sheet financing that only came to light because of Gambians’ push for Finance Minister Seedy Keita to come out clean on the $19.4 million.
The state insider gave an example of possible fraud: the same Finance Minister, Seedy Keita, could wake up and say the Central Bank is owing the Government D1.2 billion in Dividends, and hence the Government will not pay back the 19.4 million dollars. Now we see the need for complete transparency in all this, and why parliament needs to demand immediate and full disclosure of all details of off-balance sheet finances between Buah’s Central Bank and the entire government, including Parastatals and other Government agencies such as the National Roads Authority.
Parliament needs to set up an open investigation in which all parties advise on the process, timeline, and transparency issues. All lawyers, in-house or otherwise and the personnel at AG’s chambers, from AG, Solicitor General, staff, in-house lawyers who drafted the memorandum, the accountants involved…. We say this because these people are accredited by their professional bodies, and if there is any abuse, then they need more training and guidance.
The insider claims that Governor Buah Saidy has deepened the central bank’s involvement in various schemes, which could potentially explode beyond the economy’s ability to maintain financial stability for any incoming government. We have seen the issues with neighbouring Senegal when the Sall government left power.
People need to demand answers now. The amounts of off-balance-sheet liabilities that Minister Seedy Keita and Governor Buah Saidy are engaging in will shock us all when we take complete stock of all the Public-Private Partnership contracts they have signed.
Parliament should ask the Finance Minister to disclose all Public-Private agreements that he has signed and to sanction reviews of all those contracts. What has the Government given up, and in return, what did we get? How much of our future is locked into these stifling agreements?
What are the sharing ratios and many other details? Finance Minister Keita has signed more than 7 or 8 such contracts, including the Senegambia Bridge, and the details of these contracts are not only obscure but also completely unreported in the Budget. At the moment, many of the PPP revenues are reported in the current non-tax revenue budgets.
But equally, liabilities from such PPP contracts are not reported on the Government Books.
As citizens, we demand answers and transparency. To the sons and daughters of the nation who are involved, who are casting a blind eye just because your cheques are being paid, Gambians will judge you.
To the IMF and the World Bank, please do not make the same mistake you made in Senegal. Gambians are watching. This is a poverty-stricken nation whose people deserve to be protected. As we approach the next presidential election cycle, we urge all Gambians to be vigilant. Loyalty to the nation should be paramount. To our parliamentarians, this is beyond party politics, this is about Country! About our resources and the survival of people without adequate health care, proper education, running water, and an electricity supply … the list goes on.
All we ask for is honesty and transparency.
