By Madi Jobarteh
The numbers are staggering. In just three years – 2021, 2022, and 2023 – the Government of The Gambia has lost, diverted, stolen, misreported, under-reported, or misused more than D110.7 billion dalasi, according to the auditor general’s reports. This is not a clerical error. This is not poor bookkeeping. It is a deliberate and systemic hemorrhage of our nation’s wealth. And it comes at a devastating cost to every Gambian.
What does D110 billion mean? To appreciate the gravity of this figure, let us put it into perspective. D110 billion is more than ten times the annual health budget of The Gambia. It is enough to build over 2,000 modern schools or 20 new, fully equipped hospitals. It could provide 100,000 young Gambians with decent jobs for the next decade.
Instead, this staggering amount has been lost to mismanagement, corruption, and impunity. The money that should have transformed lives and built a future for our children has been siphoned away by a broken system.
What is the human cost of stolen billions? Every dalasi stolen has a human face. It is the face of a child crammed into a dilapidated classroom with not enough books or electricity. It is the face of a mother giving birth on a hospital lacking the required beds and without adequate medicine or proper care. It is the face of a farmer abandoned without support, watching his crops fail while loans and aid are misused.
For Gambian youth, the majority of our population, the cost is unbearable. With no jobs and no hope, thousands risk the “backway,” braving the Sahara and the Mediterranean in search of a future that their own government has denied them. Others turn to drugs and crime, victims of despair created by corruption at the top. The billions lost are not just numbers in an audit report. They are stolen futures.
The audit reports expose how deep this rot runs. In 2021, cash balances were misstated by more than D30 billion, while debt discrepancies exceeded D1.8 billion. In 2022, the auditors found 187 unrecorded government bank accounts and over D7.1 billion in unreconciled cash balances. In 2023, a shocking D55.8 billion in transit accounts remained uncleared for years, distorting the nation’s financial position. This is called a machinery of impunity.
Beyond the books, the reports detail corruption in key sectors. In the fisheries sector, fines worth over D53 million were left uncollected, while vessels arrested for illegal fishing were released without penalty. In the mining sector, royalties were understated by nearly D80 million, and critical license files disappeared. In public procurement, contracts worth millions were awarded without open competition, inflated in cost, or duplicated, including projects directly linked to the Office of the President.
Meanwhile, ghost workers and dual salary payments continue to drain the payroll, while ministries spend far beyond their budgets without approval or oversight. This is not incompetence. It is collusion. It is a deliberate betrayal of the Gambian people by those entrusted to protect their wealth.
Why should Gambians care? D110.7 billion lost in just three years is not only a figure, but also a mirror reflecting the state of governance in our country. It proves that while citizens are urged to tighten their belts, leaders loosen the strings of the public purse for personal gain as if it is there personal ATM.
The impact is plain to see. Roads crumble while billions are misused. Hospitals run out of basic medicines while health funds are siphoned away. Electricity cuts out in the middle of the night while contracts for energy projects are inflated. Communities lack water while millions are unaccounted for in government accounts. This is not “business as usual.” It is a national crisis.
Are we going to ignore these reports too, as usual? If The Gambia is to survive this corruption crisis, decisive action is urgent. The government must investigate, prosecute, and recover every stolen dalasi. Parliament must rise above politics and enforce its constitutional oversight duty by ensuring accountability for the gross malpractices identified in these reports.
Most importantly, Gambian citizens must demand accountability. Civil society, the media, and especially the youth must refuse silence. Corruption is not a victimless crime. It is the silent killer of nations. And in The Gambia, it is robbing an entire generation of their right to education, jobs, dignity, and hope.
Our nation is at a crossroads. The D110 billion lost in three years could have changed the course of our nation. Instead, it has been stolen. The question we must ask ourselves is: how much longer will Gambians allow their future to be looted? Our youth cannot afford another three years of stolen billions. Our nation cannot survive another decade of impunity. The choice is clear: accountability or collapse. The time to act is now.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
