Your Excellency,
I write to you with utmost respect and patriotic sincerity regarding the proposed licensing and operational registration of Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX founded by Elon Musk, within the sovereign jurisdiction of the Republic of The Gambia.
This matter transcends technology. It is a defining question of national strategy, economic equilibrium, digital sovereignty, and institutional foresight. As your government advances its digital transformation agenda through the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the allure of satellite-based broadband is undeniable. Yet, so too are the structural implications.
Your Excellency, The Gambia indeed requires accelerated digital inclusion. Rural connectivity gaps persist across the Upper River Region, Central River Region, and North Bank Region. Broadband affordability remains uneven. Our aspirations for e-governance, fintech expansion, digital public services, and smart agriculture demand stronger infrastructure. In this regard, Starlink’s satellite constellation model offers potential advantages geographic inclusivity, network redundancy, and competitive stimulus.
However, digital infrastructure today is as strategic as ports, power grids, and financial systems. When connectivity is delivered through external satellite architecture beyond territorial control, profound sovereignty questions arise:
Who governs the routing of national data traffic?
Under which jurisdiction are disputes adjudicated?
Can lawful interception, consistent with Gambian law, be effectively exercised?
Where will sensitive governmental and financial data be cached or processed?
If critical communications traverse networks outside enforceable domestic oversight, we risk diluting the integrity of our digital sovereignty.
Furthermore, Your Excellency, our domestic telecommunications ecosystem Africell, QCell, Gamcel, Comium and Gamtel sustains employment, tax revenue, and national infrastructure investment. An unregulated market entry by a satellite operator could disproportionately capture premium segments corporate institutions, embassies, NGOs without equivalent reinvestment into the Gambian economy. This could erode local operators’ capital capacity and strain already fragile state-owned assets.
I humbly and candidly submit that approval, if considered, must be conditional and strategically calibrated. The Ministry in charge of communication and digital economy, in collaboration with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Justice, the National Intelligence Agency, and the Ministry of Finance, should ensure:
Full taxation parity and fiscal transparency;
Mandatory local representation and regulatory presence;
Contribution to universal service obligations;
Compliance with Gambian data protection and cybersecurity laws;
Clear lawful interception frameworks;
Periodic compliance audits subject to Gambian jurisdiction;
Phased or geographically limited rollout prioritiSing underserved regions.
The path forward is not rejection of innovation, nor is it unguarded acceptance. It is disciplined integration anchored in constitutional authority.
Your Excellency, history will judge this generation of leadership not by the speed with which it embraces global technology, but by the wisdom with which it safeguards national interest while doing so. The digital future of The Gambia must not be outsourced it must be negotiated, regulated, and preserved within the framework of sovereign law.
I respectfully urge your careful consideration and invite the Minister responsible for Communication and Digital Economy to subject this matter to the highest level of technical, legal, and security scrutiny before any irrevocable decision is made. With profound respect and unwavering commitment to national progress,
Mohammed Jallow
Latrikunda Sabiji
Serekunda EastÂ
The changing face of February 18: Where is the people’s parade?
Dear Editor,
As I sat behind the microphone for GRTS this past Wednesday, watching the dust rise from the parade grounds, I expected to be swept up in the usual tide of nostalgia. Instead, I found myself documenting a celebration that felt increasingly distant from the history it claims to honour. The Gambia’s journey to sovereignty wasn’t forged in the heat of battle or through military conquest; it was a civilian victory, won through diplomacy, persistence, and the peaceful collective will of its people. Yet, looking at the 2026 celebrations, you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
The balance of our independence celebrations has tipped heavily toward the martial. While the discipline of our security forces is commendable, the grandeur of the military style display seems to have come at the expense of our civic heart. I looked for the vibrant columns of schoolchildren I used to see but I saw a few of them. Their dwindling numbers felt like a gap in our national continuity. The silent voluntary sector was equally noticeable. The Boy Scouts, Boys Brigade, Girl Guides, Rangers, and the Red Cross used to be the backbone of this day, serving as a living testament to civic duty and volunteerism. The Boy Scouts band just strolled in and halted before the Police Band led the schoolchildren. Without them, and without the traditional songs from schoolchildren, the atmosphere felt clinical and out of place.
This institutional erosion didn’t happen overnight, but this year the shift felt final. When we exclude these organisations, we send a message that the only form of national service that matters is uniformed security. Independence Day should be a mirror of the nation’s identity, yet by allowing the civilian participation to fade into a mere handful of athletes and a negligible number of school children, we risk turning a day of national reflection into a display of state power.
The master of ceremonies was the Gambia Armed Forces PRO, who provided a detailed reading of the Parade Commander’s CV and delivered an opening address. In my assessment, these elements felt unnecessary and inconsistent with the standard protocol for such an event.
To ensure that future anniversaries restore the soul of the nation, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education must re-prioritise the participation of our schools, and the National Organising Committee must re-balance the programme. For every military battalion on the march, there should be a representation of the civil society that the military is sworn to protect. As a commentator, my job is to describe what I see, but as a Gambian, my heart looks for what is missing. We achieved our independence through the power of the pen and the peaceful march of the common man. Our celebrations should look like our history: colourful, choral, and undeniably civilian.
Alhaji Essa Jallow
Brikama
