Madi Ceesay, the United Democratic Party member for Serrekunda East, has clashed with the Minister of Local Government Musa Drammeh over his “ministry’s reluctance” to approve an application by the municipality to secure a duty waiver concession at the Ports for their new garbage trucks.
At the National Assembly on Thursday, Madi a retired journalist and publisher of the Daily News, said he is disappointed the minister is frustrating such a significant steps aimed at combating trash management problem in the KMC.
“KMC recently has bought fleet of vehicles which are about to be inaugurated on Saturday but it is blocked… This Government that we call ours is saying, through the Ministry of Local Government, that they are going to give out millions before those trucks are taken from Ports…,” said Ceesay.
The KMC has brought 23 trucks in the country. Nineteen of the trucks were for trash collection in all the wards in the region and 4 for public places. The municipality was charged to pay 13.1 million by Gambia Revenue Authority which was paid on Friday.
Insiders at the KMC told Kerr Fatou that was the first time the municipality makes any importation into the country without a duty waiver.
Madi said the actions of the Minister are “politically motivated”. The UDP is in an ongoing feud with President Adama Barrow.
However, Minister Drammeh told lawmakers on Thursday that they did not support efforts by the KMC to get a duty-waiver agreement for the trucks because the process taken by the municipality to purchase them was defective.
Drammeh said the KMC has failed to involve the Public Partnership Department at the Ministry of Finance and the Justice Ministry, actions which made the process flawed.
“We do not want to fall victim of violating the rules…,” said the Minister.
“They said they are entering into Public Private Partnership with Espace Motor and it is a must requirement to engage Justice Ministry and PPP at the Finance Ministry but they did not.”
Meanwhile, the KMC is inaugurating the vehicles on Saturday.