By Omar Bah
The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice EFSCRJ, has called on President Adama Barrow to cancel the Banjul Ports concession agreement.
The concession agreement between the Gambian government and Turkish company Albayrak for managing and expanding the Banjul port has generated concerns and doubts about its economic impact.
The agreement allocates 80% of port revenue to Albayrak which would provide the investment, and 20% to the Gambian government and despite government’s assurance that Gambia is in fact going to gain more with efficient port operations and eventually a new modern port in Sanyang, people continue to express doubt.
In a statement shared with The Standard, the civic society group EFSCRJ said: “We call on President Adama Barrow to intervene urgently to halt this concession agreement because it does not serve national interest. Rather it only rewards corruption and mismanagement thereby paving the way for many more public enterprises to be sold out.”
It added that officials who run and mismanage public enterprises must be held accountable and not to be rewarded with concession agreements.
“Furthermore, we call on the chairperson and members of the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC) of the National Assembly to intervene urgently to reverse this concession and maintain the Banjul Port under the full ownership, control, and management of the Gambia Ports Authority.
“Furthermore, we call on PEC and the National Assembly as a whole to play their oversight function more effectively by holding GPA more accountability in performing its duties to efficiently operate the Banjul Port.”
