Despite spending over D10 billion Dalasis (US$200 million) to Karpower, NAWEC is still struggling.

The AG Panel carefully examined the recent statements made by Finance Minister Seedy Kieta during last week's session of the National Assembly. Karpower’s Country Manager, Omar AB Njie, indicated that the government has cleared all arrears since a few months ago, which contradicts the statements made by Finance Minister Seedy Kieta before lawmakers.

The Minister of Finance, Seedy Keita, has intentionally presented misleading information to the National Assembly. In his appearance before lawmakers on Wednesday, December 3, he explicitly stated, as reported by The Standard, that The Gambia expected to receive US$45 million in budget support from the World Bank. He mentioned that part of these funds would be designated to tackle what he called outstanding arrears of US$19.6 million owed to Karpower.

The Gambia signed its initial contract with Turkish energy company Karpowership in February 2018. That agreement was a 2-year deal with the National Water and Electricity Supply Company (NAWEC) to deploy a floating power plant and supply electricity to the national grid.

The Gambia paid Karpowership over D10 billion dalasi (~US$200 million+) during the course of the contract from 2018–2025 for the floating power supply. The average annual payment was reportedly over US$30 million per year to supply ~30 MW of electricity — meaning the deal cost roughly as much per year as it would take to build a similar-sized power plant.

In The Gambia’s case, multiple local news analysts and commentators have called for transparency and release of the contract details so the public can see how expensive it actually is

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