Economist Dr. Ousman Gagigo has said that he has since last year maintained that the government’s concession agreement with Africa50 on the Senegambia Bridge could have been good for the country if the Ministry of Finance under Mr. Seedy Keita had taken their duties and responsibilitiesseriously.
“There is nothing wrong with asset recycling in principle. It can be beneficial to the country and contribute to our economic development. But the mere labelling of an agreement as “asset recycling” does not make it so,” he opined.
“The reality is that the concession agreement with Africa50 does not meet the requirements for an asset recycling scheme. An asset recycling scheme involves monetizing an existing asset to help finance another important infrastructure asset. From the very moment the Gambian public became aware of this agreement, the government never specified what specific infrastructure would be financed from the deal. It quickly because obvious that the government was just keen on receiving the payment upfront and spend it wastefully,” added Dr. Gagigo.
“In fact, the Minister of Finance, Seedy Keita, included the first payment sent by Africa50 in the 2023 budget. What that means is that the amount would be used to finance the expenditures of that year. In fact, the government also indicated to the IMF that the 2024 budget will benefit from a non-tax revenue that will come from Africa50 deal. So, given the above details, the government’s actions rule out this agreement being consistent with a real asset recycling deal,” he stated.
“What is sad about this situation is that it was quite feasible to negotiate and execute a proper asset recycling deal that is in the nation’s interest. Let’s consider the current problem we are facing with our energy sector. The country has a huge energy deficit due to lack of investment in energy generation. We experience daily power outages, as well as low and fluctuation voltage problems. The country owes millions of dollars in arrears to both Senegal and Karpowership. Due to these arrears, the country is at serious risk of being cut off from power supply in a way that can devastate the economy of the country.”