Institutions and records
The D164 million Securiport payment explained
Short answer
- Total paid
- D164,053,036 1
- Number of payments
- Five payments from 16 February to 9 December 2021 1
- Claim period
- 1 October 2019 to 31 August 2020 1
- Original claim
- US$4,529,220 1
- Audit recommendation
- Seek legal advice, stop further arrears payments and recover the money if the opinion favoured government 1
The five payments
The National Audit Office table lists five payment vouchers issued to Securiport Gambia LLC in 2021 1. They were D25,000,000 on 16 February, D27,143,693 on 19 March, D30,900,000 on 24 June, D30,972,000 on 30 September and D31,452,000 on 9 December 1. The total is D164,053,036 1.
The payment descriptions call the money a settlement or payment of accrued security-fee arrears 1. The report says the claim covered 1 October 2019 to 31 August 2020, when the project had not started collecting the security fee 1.
Why Securiport claimed the money
Securiport sent a formal request to the Ministry of Finance in February 2020 for US$4,529,220 1. The company described the amount as lost revenue caused by delay in starting the project 1. It supplied a passenger-manifest summary to the Ministry of Interior in September 2020 1.
Government officials told the auditors that the delay arose from efforts to obtain an IATA code so the fee could be placed in airline tickets 1. The report says IATA did not grant the code after The Gambia was considered an expensive destination 1.
What the auditors decided
The auditors said there was a risk that public money paid arrears that government did not owe 1. They linked the issue to weaknesses in supervision and control of government financial matters 1.
The report recommended that government stop paying arrears until it obtained legal advice from the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice 1. It said government should recover D164,053,036 and return it to the Consolidated Revenue Fund if the legal opinion favoured the state 1.
What Securiport said
Securiport's response is printed in the management letter 1. The company said the government could not secure the IATA code and that the contract then placed the payment liability on government 1. It said representatives of the ministries of Finance and Interior and GCAA verified the figures before the Ministry of Finance received payment instructions 1.
The auditors did not accept that explanation as sufficient 1. Their closing comment said IATA had discretion to issue or withhold a code, and that the delay was outside government control 1. They repeated the legal-review and possible-recovery recommendation 1.
What later records do and do not prove
A government statement dated 14 February 2023 said the administration had formed a taskforce to investigate and renegotiate the contract terms. It referred to the audit recommendation concerning D164 million 2. The statement did not publish a legal opinion or say the money had been recovered 2.
The 2025 national revenue estimates included a Securiport fees line with D112,802,638 approved for 2024 and D188,179,645 estimated for 2025 3. That later revenue record does not answer whether the 2021 arrears payment was legally due or recovered 1,3.
No official source opened for this page records a final legal opinion on the D164,053,036 or a completed recovery 1,23. The accurate current description is that the payment was made, questioned by the NAO and left subject to the legal process recommended in the audit 1.
Common questions
Was D164 million only demanded or was it paid?
The audit lists five 2021 payments totalling D164,053,036 1.
Why did Securiport say government owed the money?
The company said the contract placed liability on government after an IATA code for ticket collection was not secured 1.
Did the audit order immediate recovery?
It recommended legal advice first. Recovery was recommended if the legal opinion favoured government 1.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].
Sources
- National Audit Office, The Gambia: SECURIPORT Audit Final Management Letter (1 November 2022)
- Government of The Gambia, republished by Freedom Newspaper: Government clarifies allegations over Securiport (14 February 2023)
- Government of The Gambia: Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2025, revenue item 1422219 (2025)
- The Standard: Inside The Securiprofit Deal (17 September 2022)
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