A project conceived in June 2023, when budget bilaterals had barely started, was somehow not budgeted for. Through a series of access to information requests and reviews of documents submitted to parliament, The Republic’s findings show that the multi-million dalasi media service contract—signed between five media houses, two content creators, and the Gambia government—largely funds casual coverage media houses across the country are doing as part of their daily routine. What purpose does the contract serve, and why do questions still remain regarding the actual value of the contract? The Republic’s news editor revisits the implementation of the controversial contract one year on…
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In June 2023, the vice president Mohammed BS Jallow presided over a meeting at State House to discuss “significant information gaps” which have reduced Gambia government to a “defensive position.”
Among the attendees were the Chief of Staff Modou K Ceesay, Information Minister Lamin Queen Jammeh, PS Yankuba Saidy, the president’s DPPR Amie Bojang-Sissoho, Director of Information Services, and a host of others.
Barely eight months later, on 12 February 2024, the Contracts Committee of the Ministry of Information also met over the same subject. The committee comprised Minister Lamin Queen Jammeh, PS Yankuba Saidy, DPS Fanding Kinteh, Assistant Accountant Saidou N Saidybah, Assistant Secretary Alim Barry, and Senior Procurement Clerk Fatou S Sanyang.
These meetings ultimately gave birth to the controversial Media Services Contract which dashed over 40 million dalasi to 5 selected broadcast media and two content creators. The government considered this the “most potent option” to bridge the information gaps.
Star TV, QTV, Paradise TV, Eye Africa TV, and The Fatu Network constituted the broadcast media category while Fandema and Sparkling were the two content creators selected through a restricted tender.
Upon signing the contract, the government paid 50% of the funds–D20.5 million–while the second payment would be effected in two installments; 30% and 20%. According to payment vouchers and invoices, the two installments have been completed between August and December 2024 as the contract phased out in February 2025.
In December 2023, lawmakers approved the D29b 2024 budget estimates. The ministry of information was allocated D39.7m, several hundred thousand less than the total money allocated to the media companies to ‘promote the government agenda’.
However, the contract was not included in the ministry’s budget or put through any parliamentary scrutiny as the money was paid through virement, a process of transferring funds from one budget line to another.
Despite having the opportunity, the government failed to put the payment for the media companies, all conceived and endorsed several months before a budget session, through a parliamentary scrutiny in what many critics say was a deliberate attempt to bypass accountability.
Paying for ‘free services’
The five media companies and two content creators were paid to do a number of things. Most of the tasks are traditionally performed by Gambian media outlets as part of their standard editorial responsibilities without payments.
The Republic has reviewed the information ministry’s own report on the entire work done by each outlet but there is hardly any difference between what the media outlets were doing for free and what they were paid millions to do.
For example, one of the media houses that received over two million dalasis upon signing the contract, covered the following tasks in February 2024:
–National Dialogue
–Independence celebration advert
–Security personnel’s cleansing exercise
–Barrow constituting committee on national dialogue
–German ambassador presenting credentials
–Barrow hosting political party leaders
–GPPA launching new digital portal
–Transport ministry holding retreat
–Justice ministry event on post-TRRC
A casual follower of Gambian media will notice that the above-mentioned tasks are routine media coverages across the country. The only money media houses get for such coverage is the transport refund.
Over D2.52M ‘wasted’ on Sparkling
According to the ministry, one of the criteria used to select the beneficiary media institutions was ‘competence’. However, one of the content creators faltered in that aspect right at the start. On 20th August 2024, the ministry wrote to Sparkling regarding its “poor performance” in delivering service, describing it as a breach of contract.
The ministry said six months after Sparkling signed the contract and received 50% of the money, it only produced four “poor-quality documentaries which could not be aired by the broadcasters”.
Even though the government terminated Sparkling’s contract on 9 September 2024, the ministry only announced it on 16 January 2025 after The Republic made inquiries about the situation.
Based on a legal opinion from the AG’s Chambers–which redrafted the contracts signed by the media–Sparkling was asked to refund the D2,525,000 within 60 days. It has been a year since, and the money has not been refunded.
The government had two other options to recover the funds; through the bank guarantee provided by Sparkling or through a civil suit. The Republic understands none of the options was taken by the government to recover taxpayers’ money.
Information Minister Dr Ismaila Ceesay told The Republic in January that the government will not seek a refund of the D2,525,000 first installment Sparkling received upon signing the contract.
But that is not all. Sparkling was contracted to receive D5,575,000 in two installments. However, its contract was terminated before the second installment with over D3,000,000 balance left with the ministry. The Republic understands the balance has been redirected to “other activities” of the ministry, including hiring 5 purported strategic communications consultants.
Conflicting figures
A lingering mystery in the contract is the actual amount paid to the media institutions and the balance, if there is any. There have been conflicting figures in the public space with no end in sight.
The Republic confirmed that the total amount approved by the Gambia Public Procurement Authority was D40, 145, 648 (forty million, one hundred and forty-five thousand, six hundred and forty eight dalasi). On 3 May 2024, the Ministry of Information— in response to a parliamentary question by member for Janjanbureh Omar Jammeh— said the total worth of the contract was D41 million.
However, responding to The Republic’s ATI request, the ministry on 19 February 2025 said a negotiation with the media contractors reduced the amount to D35,825,000, though they declined to provide this medium with copies of contracts signed with media houses, claiming they border on ‘third party information’ — a category exempted under the ATI law. That is D4,320,648 less than the amount approved by GPPA.
The ministry further revealed that, as at 31 December 2024, the sum of D33,300,000 was paid to the media contractors without any balance. But even a simple subtraction of D33,300,000 from D35,825,000 gives a balance of D2,525,000, presumably the last two installments of the terminated Sparkling.
The finance ministry paid 20.5 million dalasis as an initial 50% instalment. How D20,500,000 became 50% of D33,300,000 remains as mysterious as the actual figure of the contract.
The Republic confirmed that the finance ministry has indeed allocated another D20.5M for the second and third installments, indicating that the government paid D41M for the contract but only D33,300,000 was paid to the media.
The Republic’s letter to the finance ministry seeking clarity on the amount the government paid and through which process was ignored even after several frustrating follow-ups.
GPPA approval of addendum
In a written response to the National Assembly Member for Latrikunda Sabiji Yaya Sanyang on 20 June 2024, the ministry of information listed five broadcast media outlets without any mention of content creators. It was the ministry of information, specifically former PS Yankuba Saidy, who added content developers to the contract. Saidy did not reply to our questions or a request for an interview.
The Republic investigations in May 2024 discovered that the content creators–Fandema Multimedia, registered on November 26, 2015 and Sparkling Multimedia Agency, registered on January 17, 2023— are owned by the same person and the name on their registration is merely a front.
The Republic had also verified that the mobile numbers on the registration details of Sparkling belong to Sulayman Sawaneh, a brother of Sheikh Omar who serves as their accountant. In fact, PS Saidy attempted another addendum which failed at the last hurdle.
On 31 May 2024, PS Saidy wrote a letter to the Gambia Public Procurement Authority seeking approval for an addendum to the media service contract worth D4,150,000. Suspiciously, the addendum was for the two content creators, who Saidy added to the contract.
In the letter to GPPA, Saidy claimed the addendum is for sign language, short titles, enhanced social media contents, translation and additional human development impact stories.
He allocated D2,000,000 to Sparkling and D2,150,000 to Fandema. GPPA granted approval to the addendum request in a letter to the ministry dated 25 June 2024.
However, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, who replaced Lamin Queen Jammeh as information minister a few months earlier, rejected the addendum. Like the finance ministry, the ministry of information failed to provide further clarity on the last batch of questions received from The Republic
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