By Ramatoulie Jawo
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Abdoulie Sanyang, provided an update to the National Assembly on Wednesday regarding the ongoing investigation into theft cases at the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) involving staff from the billing unit.
This update came in response to a question posed by Hon. Muhammed Kanteh, the National Assembly Member (NAM) for Busumbala Constituency, who inquired about the progress of the GPA theft cases reported to the police.
Minister Sanyang revealed that a panel, primarily composed of police officers, had been assigned to investigate suspected revenue irregularities at the GPA’s rating unit. He further shared that two weeks into the investigation, the panel recommended a special audit to determine the extent of the fraudulent activities from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022.”Two weeks into the investigation, the panel recommends that a special audit be conducted by the GPA to ascertain the extent of fraudulent activities spanning from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022,” he said.
He added that on September 20, 2023, the Inspector General of Police’s office received the final audit report from the National Audit Office for further review.
He informed the members that the investigation is ongoing, with efforts focused on correlating the gathered information, which will be detailed in the final report.
In a follow-up question, Hon. Kanteh emphasized that the issue has been under police investigation for four to five years and remains unresolved. He inquired about the steps the ministry is taking to ensure the case is brought to court so that justice can be served.
In response, the minister explained that although the matter was reported to the police earlier, the audit report was only finalized and submitted in September 2023.”If you are talking about an audit report, we have to look at the audit report properly, do a proper investigation, and provide a Case file. And the police are doing whatever it takes. In fact, some of the activities they are doing, they are doing some recovery,” he said.
The member further requested the minister to brief the Assembly on the audit report. In response, the minister stated that he could not provide details as the report is still under investigation.
Kiang West’s National Assembly Member, Lamin Ceesay, emphasized that the minister should answer the parliament’s questions since the matter is under investigation, which differs from a court case.
Hon. Omar Jammeh, the National Assembly member for Janjanburah, inquired about the Gambia Police Force’s stance on prosecuting those implicated in the case.”Hon. Speaker, if anyone is found wanting, you will be prosecuted. That is what you do. You investigate; you have accused persons; if they are found wanting and there are some prima facie, you prosecute; that is all you do,” he responded.
The Member for Foni Bondali, Pa Dembo Sanneh, inquired from the minister about the expected duration of the ongoing investigation. In response, the minister stated that he could not provide a specific timeframe for its completion.
Hon. Alagie Babou, the Member for Sabach Sanjal, highlighted concerns that individuals involved in the matter remain active within the system. He questioned what steps the ministry is taking to ensure these individuals are placed on administrative leave.
In his reply, Minister Sanyang clarified that those individuals do not fall under his ministry’s jurisdiction, as their role is strictly investigative. He added that the decision to place them on administrative leave rests with the relevant line ministry.