Parliamentary News
Askanwi reporters publish news and featured articles on Parliamentary proceedings. Askanwi is the home of the Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter.
Almost eight months after the National Assembly confirmed three Anti-Corruption Commissioners in December 2025, the Office of the President is yet to officially hold their swearing-in ceremony to empower the Commission to commence investigating corruption allegations.
More in the news report.
The Gambia is set to take a major step in tackling irregular migration as lawmakers prepare to consider a new Immigration Bill that could, for the first time, specifically criminalise migrant smuggling in the country.
The Immigration Bill 2026, which is scheduled to be tabled before the National Assembly on Monday, 8th June 2026, seeks to repeal and replace the main immigration legislation that has been in force for more than six decades.
More in this parliamentary report.
ActionAid The Gambia (AAITG) held an engagement forum with the National Assembly Select Committee on Trade on Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) on Friday, 22nd May 2026.
The forum, held at the National Assembly in Banjul, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the implications of BITs on trade, investment governance, national development, and public accountability in the Gambia.
More in the Parliamentary report.
The head of the Tobacco Industry Monitoring Team, Mr Omar Conteh, has revealed that 673 people die from smoking-related causes annually in The Gambia, according to the 2025 Tobacco Atlas report.
More in the report.
Conflict in southern Senegal has led to the temporary closure of several Gambian schools in the Foni area along the border between the two countries. Hon Gibba for Foni Kansala raised a matter of the day, debating the issue in parliament.
More in this news report.
Feature Publications
The Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter is an initiative focusing on the Gambia’s National Assembly proceedings. Download free electronic copies online on the Askanwi Parliament page.
Askanwi can confirm that The Gambia’s National Assembly failed to achieve a quorum today, 15th June 2026, after members of the Minority Caucus held a meeting discussing the allegations surrounding Deputy Speaker Seedy Njie.
More in this breaking story.
Three claims from Cabinet Ministers Dr Ceesay and Dr Samateh that The Gambia’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is on a steady decline have been debunked after the health minister corrected MMR data submitted to Parliament. Askanwi Media's investigation into the government’s claims of a sustained decline in MMR in late 2025 has resulted in a parliamentary inquiry after our request for information was ignored completely.
More in this investigation.
The Gambia’s finance minister, Hon. Seedy Keita, informed Parliament that the government under-collected by over D3.3 billion in non-tax revenue in 2025, representing over 42% of the overall non-tax revenue target. Our data-driven feature publication analyses the total revenue collected during President Adama Barrow’s nine years in office.
More in this budget update.
The Gambia’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of four civil society advocates, holding that the Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon. Seedy S. Keita, violated the 1997 Constitution by tabling the 2025 National Budget late.
More in this landmark case which Askanwi has been following from the start.
The Gambia’s Finance Minister, Hon. Mambury Njie, informed members of the National Assembly’s Special Committee that the government received one billion dalasis in its accounts on 20th April 2020. The Minister explained that the “very soft loan from the IMF has now landed in our account. It’s a facility that they [IMF] normally provide. It’s about one billion dalasis.” More in this feature report.
The Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Hon. Lamin Jabbie, has informed lawmakers that 80% of Gamcel shares will be sold to Ycell under a proposed public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the Government.
More in this feature publication, which details YCell’s lack of expertise compared to its partners and their lofty ambitions to invest D6.7 billion in Gamcel.
Finance Minister Seedy Keita informed Parliamentarians that a record budget deficit of D7 billion was observed from the first nine months of 2025. Our budget researchers have ascertained that this has broken all records set for budget deficits since President Barrow took over from former President Jammeh in 2017. More in our feature publication interrogating the actual and approved budget deficit from 2017 to date.
A disagreement has erupted between the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA), Foroyaa Newspaper, and renowned civil society advocate Mr. Madi Jobarteh, resulting in claims and counterclaims that 80% of The Gambia’s debt is from the previous administration of President Yahya Jammeh. Find out exactly what the Finance Minister stated on the Debt Service.
During a parliamentary engagement, Finance Minister Hon. Seedy S. Keita told the National Assembly Member that “Agriculture attracts an increase of 84% in 2026 from 2025, the largest allocation in the last ten years.” Our reporter looked at the data to ascertain if the Finance Minister’s claims are accurate.
More in the feature report.
This week marks the start of President Adama Barrow’s eighth Meet the People’s Tour, mandated by the 1997 Constitution. Our budget analysis reveals that, over the years, President Barrow has spent more than D246 million on the tour, despite Parliament only approving D72 million for the same period. This means President Barrow overspent by D173 million — an increase of approximately 340%. More in the budget analysis report.
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Videos
Hon Njai of Banjul Central Responds to Concerns on Draft Constitution
The National Assembly Member for Banjul Central Hon Abdoulie Njai held a Constituency Dialogue with his electorates on Friday 16th August 2024 organized by Activista the Gambia. Watch the question and response on the Draft Constitution.
Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter
The Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter is an initiative focusing on the Gambia’s National Assembly proceedings. Download free electronic copies online on the Askanwi Parliament page.
Coming soon…
The Gambia could soon impose a minimum fine of D3 million on individuals convicted of “aggravated migrant smuggling,” as lawmakers continue scrutinising the proposed Immigration Bill 2026, which seeks to criminalise migrant smuggling for the first time in the country’s history.
More in this parliamentary report.