By Fatou Sillah
Lamin Manneh, the United Democratic Party’s deputy secretary for foreign affairs and the diaspora, has accused President Adama Barrow’s government of withholding information about The Gambia’s offshore oil and gas potential, questioning official accounts of the country’s petroleum prospects.
Speaking about exploration activities off the Gambian coast, Mr. Manneh challenged assertions that the country has yet to establish commercially viable oil and gas reserves. He pointed to previous exploration by international companies as evidence that questions remain about the extent of the country’s resources.
“We know we are sitting on huge amounts of oil and gas, and this government is saying, ‘No, we have no oil and gas,’” Mr. Manneh said. “It’s not true. We have huge amounts of oil and gas sitting in the Atlantic here, offshore oil fields.”
Mr. Manneh did not provide evidence to support his assertion about the size of the reserves.
He also alleged, without providing supporting documentation, that some oil resources associated with The Gambia had been transferred to neighboring Senegal.
“We know that part of that oil had been somehow transferred to Senegal,” he said.
Mr. Manneh also questioned the circumstances surrounding FAR Limited’s exploration activities in The Gambia and its eventual departure, asking what became of the petroleum prospects identified during the company’s operations.
He argued that the government’s decision to enter into exploration agreements with foreign companies for offshore blocks A2 and A5 raised further questions about its characterization of the country’s petroleum potential.
Mr. Manneh said greater transparency was needed in the management of the sector and pledged that a UDP government would review existing petroleum agreements and audit transactions related to oil and gas exploration.
He said any future agreements would be expected to better protect The Gambia’s interests and ensure that the country receives a fair share of the benefits from any commercially viable discoveries.
Mr. Manneh also broadened his criticism to other government financial dealings, raising questions about alleged swap arrangements involving banks and the sale of Mega Bank. He called for greater public disclosure of the terms and circumstances surrounding those transactions.
He said a future UDP administration would investigate those transactions, along with other government agreements, to determine how public assets and resources had been managed.
The government has not been quoted in the remarks as responding to Mr. Manneh’s allegations.
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