Food Security or Family Security? How Barrow’s Nephew Got Billions! Money Breakdown for the People
By Ndey Jobarteh
This is difficult to digest, even for me. I slept over it, and on my way to work this morning I re-read it. To make it easier, here it is. In the coming days, I will also break it down on how our Ministries are implicated in this. No more misinformation in this country!
How it started
In 2021, Government said it wanted to bring down the price of rice.
They gave a company called Win Win a huge loan facility of D230 million from Mega Bank (a Government owned bank).
The loan was backed by the Government, meaning if they don’t pay, the people will pay.
What happened next
Win Win failed.
Then a new company (JV/Ecotra) was formed with the President’s nephew, Amadou Sanneh, as a big owner.
In 2022, the Government simply moved the same D230 million facility from Win Win to this new company, even though it was only 5 months old.
Who owns Ecotra
Amadou Sanneh, owns 45% of Ecotra (On paper)
Awa Sinyan, owns 10% (Amadou Sanneh’s Wife)
Mohamed Zeine, owns 45%
More money followed
Between 2022 and 2024, the Central Bank gave Ecotra $13.3 million (about D900 million) in foreign exchange from our national reserves.
In 2024, Ecotra got a new D326 million loan facility, the same size as the one given to the national food security corporation (NFSPMC).
The debts
By December 2023, Ecotra still owed D175 million to the bank.
As of this year (2025), Ecotra still owes over D100 million.
What about the people?
Rice is not cheaper.
A 50kg bag of rice sells for D2,250
All the money and loans, over D1.5 billion dalasi in total, brought no benefit to ordinary Gambians.
Why this matters
D1.5 billion dalasi could build schools, hospitals, and roads.
Instead, it was used to make the President’s nephew a millionaire.
If Ecotra fails to pay, the debt falls back on the people.
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Source: The Republic
