Africa-Press – Gambia. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (MOECD), Mr. Ousman O. Bah, said that the Gambian government has approved and adopted a ministerial document for the privatization of Gamtel and the sale of Gamcel.
The minister, who recently presented the ministerial document for the privatization and sale of the two national properties to the National Assembly, said during a question-and-answer session for ministers by the NAM: “My advice to the president was to prepare a ministerial document that would inform the suggestion of the ministry with these two institutions, which resulted in the approval of privatization, so that the participation of private partners could bring investments, given that the government did not the funds necessary to continue supporting these two institutions, which are very indebted. »
Gamcel, cited by the minister, has more than 14 million dalasis in debt. “So there is no way a company can continue to operate under such conditions, and it is not contributing to the state currently,” he said.
The minister was asked about the decline in revenues of Gamtel and Gamcel. The minister said there are many reasons behind this decline.
“Outdated technology, overburdened staff, limitation in revenue generation, low level of innovation in services, inadequate investment in technology and infrastructure upgrade are the major factors contributing to this decline,” he said.
He also said that the fiber optic assets had not yet been transferred to the special purpose entity. However, he added that the following motivated the supposed transfer of Gamtel’s fiber optic and telecommunications assets to the special purpose entity.
“The World Bank-supported State Enterprise Reform Project, which provided the framework within which a pilot study was carried out on the financial and operational viability of Gamtel, served as the basis for this decision,” he said. -He specifies.
“The study found that Gamtel is highly indebted, overstaffed and operationally inefficient. This was followed by an optional study to assess the best option for revitalizing Gamtel, and among the options approved by Cabinet in 2019 was the creation of an SPV. Gamtel’s human resources audit in July 2016 suggested that around 75% of employees are ghost workers or could be fired. »
Informed by the study conducted, the minister suggested that “revenue collection will be positive if the restructuring is effectively implemented and Gamtel will be able to retain staff with the necessary skills and know-how. »
Following the study, he concluded that “the management structure has changed” to date.
“Gamtel is in no way an enforcement agent of the government,” he revealed, “it is a state enterprise. » However, the government continues to support Gamtel to fulfill its mandate. Funds have been mobilized by the government to build infrastructure for Gamtel, including the ACE cable, NBN optical fiber deployed across the country and the data centre. And some of these loans are still administered by the government. »
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