Finance Minister Says Government Paid D80 Million in NAWEC Arrears, Disbursed D1 Billion Subsidy

By Fatou Sillah

The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Seedy Keita, has informed the National Assembly that the government has settled D80 million in arrears owed to the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), in addition to a D1 billion subsidy disbursed during the 2026 budget implementation period.

Presenting an update on budget execution, Minister Keita explained that the payments form part of the government’s confirmed obligations to the utility company, noting that timing differences accounted for variations in reported expenditure across quarters.

He told lawmakers that Centralized Services recorded a 13.23 percent execution rate, driven largely by partial disbursements, including D80 million in arrears to NAWEC and D60.5 million in other verified debts, with additional allocations scheduled for release in subsequent quarters.

“A significant portion of the budget remains scheduled for disbursement in later quarters,” he said.

Clarifying the nature of the payments, the minister said the D80 million represented a settlement of outstanding arrears between the government and NAWEC.

“The D80 million is payment of arrears to NAWEC. Let’s clarify that because NAWEC has arrears, government buildings have arrears owed to NAWEC, so that is where the D80 million is from. The D1 billion, which is the subsidy to NAWEC, was paid in the second quarter,” he explained.

He further stated that the D1 billion subsidy allocated to NAWEC was disbursed in the second quarter, rather than within the first quarter reporting period, affecting overall execution rates.

“If you look at the budget of the Ministry, the D1.5 billion, D1 billion was a subsidy to NAWEC, and the D1 billion was not paid in the first quarter, but rather in the second quarter,” He Said.

According to him, the first installment of the subsidy was only effected in April, which meant it was not reflected in the first quarter expenditure report ending in March.

“That is why the overall execution rate was only 1%. That D1 billion allocation to NAWEC was paid in April instead of in the first quarter ending March,” he added.

Minister Keita assured lawmakers that the government continues to meet its sectoral obligations while maintaining accurate fiscal reporting across all quarters.

Responding to concerns about reducing structural dependence on government support for NAWEC, including debt servicing and sovereign guarantees, he reaffirmed government backing for the utility.

“We can assure the August Assembly that we have been supporting NAWEC not only in terms of the subsidy, but all the loans that have gone into providing the generators are being serviced by the government of the Gambia,” he said.