By Ramatoulie Jawo
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Public Petitions has directed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Public Accounts (FPAC) and the National Audit Office (NAO) to conduct an inquiry into the D900,000 rental contribution made by Construct Company Ltd to the GT Board.
This directive was included in the committee’s report, presented to the National Assembly members on Thursday, March 14, 2024, by the committee’s chairman, Honorable Suwaibou Touray, for consideration and adoption.
“The Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) and the National Audit Office (NAO) within 90 days, should inquire into the rental contribution of D900,000 by Construct Company Ltd to GT Board to ascertain that it is properly accounted for through the bank statement and reflected in the accounts,” the committee recommended.
Hon. Touray emphasized the necessity for further investigations into the initial contract for the head office at the Tropics and the agreements concerning the new head office constructed by Construct Company Ltd.
“The FPAC and NAO should conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the overall picture in terms of the land allocated to Construct Company Ltd and the money that has been given to them and what is the total cost of the building that GT Board is currently occupying,” the committee highlighted.
Honorable Touray emphasized the necessity for the GT Board and the Minister of Tourism to provide further justifications regarding payments made to Construct Company Ltd in 2018 and 2019, especially considering the contract cancellation by the Minister in 2017. He underscored the importance of discouraging the trend where contracts from previous administrations are routinely canceled or significantly altered by new governments without conducting thorough cost-benefit analyses.
The petitioners assert that in 2014, the Gambia Tourism Board entered into a Framework Agreement with Construct Company for the allocation of land in the TDA in Fajara, now known as Fajara Waterfront. According to them, the agreement stipulated that the GT Board would allocate the land to Construct Company, and in return, the company would construct a head office complex for the GT Board at Kololi, adjacent to the Jakarlo Football Field on the highway to Senegambia, now referred to as the Tropics.
“Equally, no one could tell if the framework agreement with construct Company still exists and there is rumor that the complex is now leased to construct Company and the proceeds are shared between the Minister, PS, DG, and Director of Finance,”
The committee noted in their report that Construct Ltd was obligated to pay D900,000 towards the Board’s rent, but only fulfilled this obligation once.
Additionally, the committee observed that the initial contract was terminated without conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis to evaluate potential gains and losses.
“Investigations carried out and further reviewing the Audited Accounts of the GT Board, the following were payments made towards the head office of the board amounting to D15,813,853.80 or $311,444 which is higher than the $225,000 that was actually signed in the contract with Construct Ltd,” the committee revealed in their findings.