The $4 million, he said, is the only committed funding so far, but discussions with development partners “are ongoing” to raise additional resources. Due to the current stage of resource mobilisation, no contract has yet been awarded, he added.
He made this revelation while responding to inquiries about the long-awaited replacement for Mile 2 Central Prison.
The question read by Hon. Abdoulie Njie on behalf of the Member for Banjul North, sought full details on funding, location, contractor, charges awarded, and construction timelines for the new facility.
When pressed on whether a location had been identified, the Minister confirmed that an allocation letter had already been issued for Nyambikala, in Brikama.
Further questions came from Hon. Njie, who pointed out that the $4 million is about D300 million, hence he sought clarification on how much the ministry had budgeted for the project.
Minister Sanyang responded that the figure far exceeded the scope of the project, stressing that the government was not simply building another prison.
“We are not trying to build a prison. We are moving from the punitive to correctional. We are building a modern correctional facility,” he said, adding that the project is expected to cost “between $20 million and $25 million, up to $30 million”.
This is a full rehabilitation-center model, not a traditional punitive institution, he emphasised.
In a separate question, Member for Janjangbureh Hon. Omar Jammeh sought clarity on revenues and share distributions from the airport security port agreement, including evidence of payments and records of management meetings.
Minister Sanyang indicated that while the Gambia Immigration Department serves as the implementing partner for the project, all financial matters fall under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, placing those details outside the parameters of his ministry.
