By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The Cabinet late last week gave a nod to the request of the digital economy minister for it to consider and approve the tender process for the disposal of 60% of Gamcel’s shares to private investors.
This disclosure was made by the minister of information Lamin Queen Jammeh shortly after emerging from a Cabinet session on Thursday.
It would be recalled that UDP official Mr Larry Ceesay nearly a fortnight ago said in an exclusive interview with Coffee Time With Peter Gomez that the Gambia government had reportedly made moves to sell Gamtel/Gamcel after selling the State-owned Mega Bank.
To Mr Ceesay, the Gambia government must uphold the principles of accountability and transparency when it comes to the sale of strategic national assets.
However, according to the digital economy minister Ousman Bah, as relayed by the information minister Jammeh, a study was completed in 2021 to value and assess the viability of Gamtel/Gamcel.
Minister Bah informed the Cabinet that the Gambia government has reached a financing agreement with the World Bank in 2020, which among others, revolved around telecom reforms in development policy financing.
“The restructuring and repositioning of Gamtel/Gamcel, taking into consideration new developments affecting the continuity of both companies, commenting on the executive summary, Hon. Minister [Ousman Bah] said that as part of the development of Gambia Fiscal Management and Development project, the government of The Gambia entered into a financing agreement with the World Bank on 30 May 2020, which centered on fiscal management, energy and telecoms reforms in development policy-financing,” the information minister revealed.
“He [Minister Bah] went on to point out that as stipulated in the agreement, the government is to prepare for private sector participation in the management and operation of essential fiber assets through a Special Purpose Vehicle otherwise SPV,” added Minister Jammeh.
According to him, the Cabinet paper that the digital economy minister presented, provided recommendations and actionable steps for the Cabinet to make informed decisions and effectively implement the chosen restructuring and repositioning strategy of Gamtel/Gamcel.
“The Honourable minister assured Cabinet[that] for the two to regain their former glory i.e Gamtel/Gamcel respectively, the government must take significant structural and operational reforms, including addressing the overstaffing issue, adopting modern, innovative business strategies and leveraging innovative technologies to generate the much-needed revenue,” stated the information minister. He added: “The Honourable minister requested Cabinet to consider and approve the restructuring of Gamtel into two distinct companies, providing wholesale and retail services, consider and approve the transfer of Gamtel fiber and relevant telecom assets to the SPV, which referred to as Gambia fiber company limited for its operationalization and consider and approve the tender process for the privatization and disposal of 60% of Gamcel shares to private investors and approval was granted.”