Hundreds of employees at Alport Banjul Limited have formally declared a vote of no confidence in the company’s Managing Director, Salih Levent Kacar, demanding his removal within five working days and the appointment of a replacement who can restore industrial harmony at the Port of Banjul.
In a strongly worded formal notice dated 24 August 2026, the Alport Staff Association transmitted a petition bearing the signatures of 871 staff members—including workers from the Banjul Shipyard—to the Board of Directors of Alport Banjul Limited and the Government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure. The association stated that the signatures represent the overwhelming majority of the 933 transferred staff and reflect a collective loss of confidence in the current leadership.
The Staff Association emphasized that it did not take the decision lightly. It followed months of persistent difficulties, implementation failures, inadequate communication, and declining staff confidence. Most critically, the association accused the Managing Director of failing to implement commitments and resolutions agreed at the highest level of government after industrial action earlier this year.
In June 2026, industrial action at the Port of Banjul disrupted operations for more than 48 hours, prompting intervention by presidential advisers and a Ministerial Ad Hoc Committee. A government-brokered resolution established a binding framework for outstanding transition, employment, welfare, budgetary and industrial-relations issues. The Staff Association said its members returned to work in good faith, relying on those commitments. The Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure was assigned responsibility for monitoring implementation and reporting to a Cabinet Ad Hoc Committee.
According to the association, several of those concerns remain unresolved. They include delayed payment of salaries, unlawful or disputed deductions from allowances, suspension or withholding of salaries of sick employees without proper due process, concerns over the treatment of Gambian employees by members of the expatriate HR team, failure to respect the terms and conditions applicable to transferred employees fully, and failure to implement agreed resolutions and approved staff welfare measures fully.
Particular frustration surrounds the 2026 HR budget for transferred staff. Preparation of the budget did not begin until June 2026 and was completed only in July under pressure from the Staff Association and the Ministerial Ad Hoc Committee. Although the Alport Board subsequently approved the budget—which was required to incorporate a staff loan facility of at least the amount historically allocated by the Gambia Ports Authority—implementation has been unacceptably slow. Critical components such as staff loans, training, scholarship stipends and other welfare commitments have remained outstanding or required repeated intervention.
“A budget that is approved but not implemented in a timely and transparent manner provides little practical benefit to the employees for whom it was intended,” the notice stated. “The recurring necessity for the Staff Association to remind, pressure and escalate matters before management acts has created the impression that implementation occurs only when management is compelled to act. That is not sustainable governance.”
An attached implementation tracker lists outstanding matters, including training and capacity development, overtime and shift arrangements, salary and allowance harmonization, terms and conditions of service, staff welfare commitments, employment-related commitments, outstanding transition obligations, and rebuilding trust and industrial relations. Many of these issues, the association stressed, were specifically identified and resolved at government level, meaning they cannot be dismissed as mere misunderstandings between individual employees and management.
The association also highlighted a failure of communication and trust. The June resolution expressly identified inadequate communication and a lack of trust as grievances requiring resolution. Instead, repeated delays and the need for continuous reminders have further deteriorated confidence. “A Managing Director entrusted with leading an institution of strategic national importance must be able to inspire confidence among employees, engage constructively with their representatives and ensure that decisions are translated into action,” the letter said. “The current leadership has failed to meet that standard.”
In a speech on the petition’s submission, association leaders underscored that their struggle is not against the concession or development, but for fairness, dignity and respect for Gambian workers. “For more than 50 years, the Port of Banjul has been known for industrial harmony and stability,” the speech noted. “However, within less than two years of the commencement of the concession, we have witnessed repeated disagreements, grievances and industrial actions.”
The association was careful to distance itself from any political interpretation. “We are not an opposition movement. We are not anti-government. We are not affiliated with any political party or political movement,” the notice declared. “Our concerns should not be politicized simply because they involve criticism of the management of a public-interest institution. We are employees exercising our legitimate right to advocate for our welfare, our working conditions and the lawful protections applicable to us.”
The formal demand calls on the Board of Directors to exercise its governance responsibility by removing the Managing Director and appointing a suitable replacement, and on the Government—particularly the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure—to intervene in accordance with its monitoring and accountability responsibilities under the government-brokered resolution.
A five-working-day ultimatum has been set. “This is not a request for another meeting to discuss whether the identified problems exist,” the association stated. “The problems have already been identified. The Government has already intervened. The parties have already agreed on resolutions. The budget has already been agreed/approved. What is now required is implementation and accountable leadership.”
“We want a Port where management respects its employees, employees respect management, agreements are honored, lawful rights are protected, and industrial peace is restored,” the notice concluded. “We believe that the Port of Banjul belongs to the people of The Gambia, and its success must benefit both the country and the employees who dedicate their lives to its operations.”
At the time of going to press, neither Alport Banjul Limited nor the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure had issued a public response.
