The Banjul airport security contract with Securiport

Who the parties are

The contract is between the Government of The Gambia and Securiport. The National Audit Office (NAO) named the Office of the President and the Ministry of Interior as the contracting authorities, as reported by The Point ¹. The press reports reviewed by this site give no signing date ^1,2.

President Adama Barrow described Securiport as a US company and said it does similar work in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and other countries in the region ⁵.

The government announced the Immigration Security System Levy with immediate effect on 9 September 2020. Each arriving and each departing passenger was to pay US$20 at booths in the airport ¹⁰.

What the contract covers

The NAO described the contract as covering the management of immigration security services at Banjul International Airport ¹. Dubawa reported that it covers civil aviation and immigration security and the introduction of an e-visa system ⁴.

The NAO called for better training of immigration officers so they can set up and manage the Immigration Information Control System servers and databases ².

President Barrow said Securiport collects data, but the Gambia Immigration Department keeps all of it ⁵. Presidential adviser Sulayman Camara said Securiport is linked to Interpol, the State Intelligence Services and the police through a shared database ⁶.

How the money is meant to flow

Dubawa quoted Section 2.1.1.1 of the contract. The GCAA and Securiport open a joint bank account. Securiport receives 75 percent (US$15) and the GCAA 25 percent (US$5) ⁴. Dubawa reported that the contract allows the fee to rise with inflation ⁴.

The contract requires the government to direct airlines at Banjul to collect the fee from each arriving and departing international passenger. The NAO found the government did not obtain IATA approval for airlines to add it to tickets. Securiport staff were deployed to collect it in cash at the terminal ³.

In June 2023 the Ministry of Interior said it had not approved a rise in the fee. Securiport said the contract sets the fee at US$20 ⁷.

Dubawa reported that the contract lists five exempt passenger categories and that diplomatic passport holders are not among them. Government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh said diplomatic passport holders do not pay, and that an addendum removed an exemption first planned for service passport holders ⁴.

Contract terms the audit office questioned

• One clause absolves Securiport of liability for delays in providing services. Another holds the government to account for any delay in collecting the fee ².
• Securiport relied on a clause to seek D164 million from the government over late implementation ². Dubawa reported that these arrears relate to October 2019 to August 2020 ⁴.
• An extension of the contract by five more years exposes the government to high termination costs if it ends the deal early ².
• The contract may lack sufficient indemnity clauses ¹.
• Securiport did not provide a detailed technical and financial proposal, so its means to invest could not be assessed ².

How the contract was awarded

The NAO found that the security initiative began in 2016. Ministry of Justice letters of July 2016, December 2017 and May 2018 urged due diligence, raised problems with unsolicited public-private partnership proposals and suggested renegotiating the agreement. The NAO found the authorities signed without taking the Attorney General's legal advice into account ¹.

A government task force recommended replacing the 15 percent sales tax on air tickets with the security fee. The NAO said the Office of the President gave executive approval to go ahead without that change ³.

Mr Camara said single sourcing is used on security matters ⁶.

The NAO said the sole handling of the contract by the Office of the President raises suspicion of impropriety. It recommended that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice take part in such negotiations ². It called for investigations into the award and a full review of the contract ¹, through the Directorate of PPP ³.

Official responses

On 27 September 2022 The Point reported a letter from the Office of the President, signed by Chief of Staff Mod K. Ceesay. It asked the Ministry of Justice to lead a joint review of the contract with Securiport, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the GCAA and others. The review was to improve the terms where possible and consider embedding the fee in the ticket ¹¹. This site found no published outcome.

Dubawa reported in March 2023 that the government issued a press statement on 15 February denying corruption allegations ⁴.

On 21 March 2023 President Barrow defended the contract on grounds of national security. He said talks were under way to embed the fee in air tickets ⁵.

On 28 March 2023 Mr Camara called the audit report half-baked, saying it did not include the management's response ⁶. A Securiport consultant told Dubawa the company oversees collections on behalf of both parties ⁴.

On 15 January 2026 Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay described the arrangement as a public-private concession with revenue shared between the government and the private partner. He said the government was working to include the fee in the ticket price ⁸. The UK government still listed the fee as payable at kiosks in July 2026 ⁹.