A coalition of civil society advocates on the Pura Data Price Floor issued a statement yesterday criticising the government for not halting the regime, six weeks after President Barrow established a committee to look into the matter.
In the statement signed by the Edward Francis Small Centre (EFSCJR), Gambians Against Looted Assets (Gala), and Team Gom Sa Bopa, the activists wrote: “At the latest Mansa Kunda Town Hall meeting held on 3rd October 2025, the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy was asked what the government is doing about the high cost of data.
“In response, Minister Lamin Jabbi revealed that ‘a committee that was constituted to look at tariff issues has just submitted its report, which will be tabled to the cabinet. And something good is there for the people of this country, I can assure you of that’.
Given that the report has been submitted, in the spirit of transparency and public trust, the report should be made public, and the cabinet should make a decision without delay. Gambians have already endured over 49 days of expensive data tariffs in addition to the rising cost of living… It has been more than six weeks since the Barrow government established a committee to look into the D50 per 1GB data price floor introduced by Pura on 20th August…”
The activists bemoaned that instead of allowing Gambians to petition public institutions established by law to hear consumers’ concerns, the government arrested 23 of their colleagues and prosecuting them.
“Contrary to President Barrow’s claims that his government respects citizens’ rights to protest, his government has proven to be hostile to peaceful demonstrations by utilising the police to crack down on dissenting voices selectively,” they stated while reaffirming their resolve to remain focused on the suspension of the data price floor, which they said placed “an unbearable burden on Gambians”.
They called out government ministers for issuing “hollow calls” for dialogue, when no official invitation has been issued to them.
They concluded: “In this regard, we remind the government that the continued abrogation of our rights to peacefully assemble will not deter us from demanding our rights. We call on the government to drop all charges of unlawful assembly and to respect citizens’ rights. Only then will we entertain any calls for dialogue.”
