Gambians now directly benefit only 4% of the revenue generated at the Banjul Port thanks to the concession agreement that President Adama Barrow’s government entered into with Albayrak Group, a senior opposition figure Lare Sisay highlighted.
Sisay, who served with the United Nations for two decades, also highlighted that Albayrak owns 80% of the Banjul Port, leaving only 20% for Gambians to own due to the lease of a profit-making and dividends-paying port by the Barrow administration.
Albayrak, a Turkish company with a questionable track record, took control of port operations last February.
Speaking in an interview with Coffee Time With Peter Gomez on Thursday, Sisay explained: “The port was making profit, it has been making profit for years and it’s been paying dividends to the government. You come and lease that to a company like Albayrak. And what are the ratios? In that contract, Albayrak gets 80% [ownership of the port] and the Gambia government gets 20%. Now, how more opaque can you be?”
Lare Sisay challenged the Barrow administration to explain the revenue-sharing mechanism.
“Then, the revenue sharing part of the contract…They have not released this part of the contract because I can bet my last penny that the revenue concession agreement is something like 96% for Albayrak and 4% for the Gambia government. Let them bring the contract out. No personal attacks, just bring out the contract,” he stated.
Mr. Sisay wondered aloud how the Gambia government and Albayrak reached a 96% and 4% ratio.
“Now, how did they arrive at such a ratio? A built port that is profitable, is paying dividends to the government, you give it as a concession and in the concession, 80% goes to a foreign company,” he stated.
“That foreign company is supposed to deposit a certain amount of money for the contract to kick in, we understand that portion of the contract also was waived for them. These are serious allegations that can only be solved not by press releases. Release the contracts, let us see what is in the contract,” he added.
