Samba Jallow, a Niamina Dankunku politician, has accused the government of misrepresenting parliament about the liberalization of the International Gateway, which he claims has stripped Gamtel of its income source, placing it in a “sad situation.”

According to Jallow, a seasoned legislator, the government secured a $25 million grant from the IMF in 2019 with the condition that the country’s international gateway be liberalized, and the administration then presented this agreement to parliamentarians without alerting them of the condition attached.

He said that the Gateway was Gamtel’s primary income generator, and that not controlling it rendered the firm useless.

“It’s heartbreaking to see Gamtel in this state. The firm used to be incredibly productive, but it is currently failing, and this Assembly has to check into it. Surprisingly, a $25 million award was submitted in this parliament in 2019 on the condition that the government embrace liberalization of the gateway before the IMF can fund the $25 million. This is heartbreaking. According to my study, in 2019, while Gamtel was working with Global Voice to manage the International Gateway, they terminated 13 million minutes in 14 months at a cost of $0.2 penny per minute, producing a net income of more than $34 million. When Spectrum took over control of the gateway, they earned over $8 million once again. So, if Gamtel collaborated with foreign organizations to create such a large sum of money, why accept a $25 million grant on the condition that this august assembly authorized without being notified of the requirement at the time? NAM Jallow added, “I believe the government should work on this to ensure Gamtel regains its Gateway.”