By: Abdoulie John
The Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ), a prominent Gambian human rights organization, has accused Finance Minister Seedy Keita of misleading the National Assembly and urged lawmakers to charge him with contempt of parliament.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, the EFSCRJ claimed that Minister Keita “knowingly misinformed” the National Assembly during a session on December 3 regarding the use of the upcoming World Bank budget support.
“The Minister of Finance, Seedy Keita, has knowingly misinformed the National Assembly and such conduct meets the threshold of contempt of parliament,” the statement read.
During the assembly session, Keita reportedly informed lawmakers that the government expected US$45 million in budget support from the World Bank, up from an initial US$20 million, and that part of these funds would be used to settle US$19.6 million in outstanding arrears owed to Turkish energy provider Karpowership following the termination of their contract.
“We had put in the budget US$20 million, expected to be budget support from the World Bank, but we had a very good engagement with them, and they have increased this to US$45 million. And part of this money will be used to pay off the Karpower arrears upon the termination of the agreement,” Keita was quoted as saying in reports.
However, the EFSCRJ highlighted a subsequent statement from Karpowership’s Country Manager, Omar A.B. Njie, asserting that no arrears existed. According to Njie, the contract expired (not terminated) on May 2, 2025, and all outstanding amounts were settled shortly thereafter, with the government paying an invoice of US$19.6 million (equivalent to €17,999,458.87) via the Central Bank on May 16, 2025.
“We [Karpower] do not have any arrears with NAWEC nor the Government of The Gambia… Our contract was not terminated; it expired on 2 May 2025. A few weeks after, the Government paid all arrears owed,” the statement from Karpowership read.
The rights group argued that by December 3, Keita was fully aware that the arrears had been cleared months earlier—in May 2025—and that the World Bank funds would effectively reimburse the government for an earlier advance payment, rather than settling a current debt to Karpowership.
“By December 3, Seedy Keita already knew that the Government had no arrears with Karpower; that the arrears were fully settled since [May] 2025 and that the reimbursement would come from the expected World Bank budget support, and not a future payment to Karpower,” the EFSCRJ stated.
The organization described the minister’s remarks as providing “delayed, incomplete, or false information,” which it said obstructs lawmakers’ constitutional duties. “This is not merely poor communication; rather, it is a breach of constitutional responsibility.”
Citing Section 75 of the Gambian Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to remove a minister for misconduct or underperformance, the EFSCRJ deemed misleading the legislature to be misconduct. It further noted that this was “not the first time Seedy Keita has undermined the National Assembly,” accusing him of repeated failures in statutory duties.
The controversy echoes recent clarifications from the Ministry of Finance, which explained that the US$19.6 million payment to Karpowership earlier in 2025 was advanced through a loan from the Central Bank, with the anticipated World Bank support intended to repay that advance.
As of now, neither the Finance Minister nor the National Assembly has publicly responded to the EFSCRJ’s call for contempt proceedings.
