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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 06 Feb 2023 : 20:37:22
Securiport demands payment of D164M from gov’t, NAO reveals
Feb 6, 2023
The Point: By: Pa Modou Cham
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/securiport-demands-payment-of-d164m-from-govt-nao-reveals
According to the National Audit Office’s conclusion on the audit of the award of contract to Securiport for the administrative and management of immigration security services at the Banjul International Airport, Securiport relied on a clause to demand payment of GMD164 million from government for the late implementation of the project.
“There is scope for significant improvement in transparency especially in the area of negotiations and awarding of Government contracts. This is evident from the numerous clauses of this contract that tends to benefit Securiport at the expense of government,” the NAO report reveals.
“One of the clauses absolved Securiport of any liability for any delays in the provision of services while a separate clause of the contract holds government to account for any delay in the collection of the security fee.”
NAO says this could have been avoided if government had considered the comments, and advice provided by Ministry of Justice before the contract was signed.
The audit report further highlighted that the extension of the contract to additional five years exposes government to high termination cost if it chooses to terminate the contract before its term ends.
The NAO report further states that there is also a need for the involvement of key stakeholders in any contract negotiation including the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Justice whilst the involvement of the Office of the President in the awarding of these contracts is recognised, its consummation of the entire contract alone without the involvement of key stakeholders raises a lot of suspicion of impropriety and corruption.
“There is a need to improve training of immigration officers to be able to setup the Immigration Information Control System (IICS) servers through all the stages and control the database management and system administration. A detailed technical and financial proposal was not provided by the company (Securiport)) for review by relevant stakeholders in order to assess whether the company has the financial means to embark on such an investment.
“These issues highlighted above have necessitated the urgency to review the contract in its entirety with possible amendments for sustained mutual benefit.” |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Feb 2023 : 14:22:30
This two articles are confusing! Is it government that owes or Securiport that owes government? |
| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Feb 2023 : 14:19:58
Gov’t loses 7-month share to Securiport
Feb 9, 2023
By: Adama Tine
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/govt-loses-7-month-share-to-securiport
The Gambia government has lost a seven-month share to Securiport, according to a recent report published by the National Audit Office (NAO), after auditing the contract awarded to Securiport for the management of immigration security services at the Banjul International Airport.
“Since the collection of security fee started in September 2020 to April 2021, there was no transfer of 25% government share to GCAA account. This is contrary to the provision of the contract,” the report reveals.
However, the report adds that a review of the GCAA bank account showed that the authority only started receiving its first 25% share on 20 May 2021, 7 months after collections started, amounting to D16,452,987.3 and no evidence of payment was made in the dollar, pound and Euro accounts in same period.
The audit office further notes that the above “is a deliberate breach” of an important provision of the contract by Securiport at the first start of the implementation of the project.
The report further states that “there is serious lack of monitoring by the Government of The Gambia” through GCAA over the operations of the project.
Additionally, the audit office has recommended that Securiport be liable for the gross violation of the contract and compensate the Government of The Gambia for any financial loss during the period in question.
The report made by NAO also recommends that, henceforth, cash collections should be deposited into the joint account and be shared monthly based on the dictates of the contract.
Findings from the contract
Section 2.2.1.1 (ii) of the contract states: “The GCAA will open conjointly with Securiport a bank account designated for this purpose to be jointly managed by GCAA and Securiport.
“This bank account will be opened with irrecoverable instructions to transfer the balance of the account on a monthly basis to the GCAA and Securiport: 75% (Seventy-five per cent) or USD15 (Fifteen United States dollars) for Securiport and 25% (Twenty-five per cent) or USD5 (five United States dollars) for the GCAA.” |
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