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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Jul 2023 : 09:24:17
What are the details in the Mortgaging of the Senegambia Bridge?
Most people only learned of the mortgaging of our critical strategic asset (Senegambia Bridge) to the private entity "Africa 50" from Finance Minister Sidi Keita following his interview with the international News network (CNBC)! The Minister calls the Public, Private, Partnership (PPP) arrangement an Asset recycling.
There are critical transparency and accountability issues regarding this financial arrangement. Many questions jump to mind, such as:
1. Did the Government conduct an intensive stakeholders' consultation, including with their Senegalese counterparts and the public?
2. Was there competitive international bidding?
3. How competitive is Africa 50 offer?
I don't remember ever hearing something so fundamental as this being discussed at the National Assembly, which should be a MUST to safeguard our national interest, considering this administration's poor track record in contracting Public, Private, Partnerships (PPP) arrangements (generally disadvantageous to the State).
The structure should have undergone due diligence to avoid entangling the State in a terrible contractual agreement like the Securiport (Airport Security levy) Contract.
There is a lot of public scepticism given this Government's track record. However, had they done this transparently with due diligence and the proceeds invested in socio-economic development to help towards sustainable development goals, there wouldn't have been this level of public outcry, as it will be seen as a Win-Win situation.
The journalist who interviewed Minister Keita appears to lack the necessary background knowledge of the Gambia's finance and economic affairs to tackle the Minister's waffling deliberation on our financial and economic development matters.
Minister Keita kept emphasising the President's ambitions to build thousands of kilometres of roads from similar Infrastructure Asset Recycles and nothing on reinvestment into the Social and Human capital. The Government prioritises significant infrastructure projects for political and the potential for massive corrupt procurement practices benefits.
From the Minister's statement, it seems the Government's next step will be to mortgage our telecoms, energy, roads, and bridges infrastructure via similar PPP Asset Recycling. Are the Government Ministers preparing for their early retirement by cashing out our state assets for a pittance? The National Assemble, political parties and civil society should be vigilant and call for transparency and accountability on this asset recycling model to ensure proper consultations and the necessary due diligence to maximise returns for the country.
Your support means the world to us! Please give our page a follow to keep up with our latest posts, and don't forget to hit that like button and share our content with your friends and family. Thank you for being a part of the OPEN GAMBIA PLATFORM community! Article contributed by Sulayman Ben Suwareh 13/07/2023! |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 25 Jul 2023 : 23:07:39
QUESTION OF THE DAY.
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https://foroyaa.net/is-the-minister-of-finance-right-to-say-that-he-can-sign-some-international-agreements-without-bringing-them-to-the-national-assembly/
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Foroyaa has a negative answer to this question. However Foroyaa has been pursuing both the ministry of finance and economic affairs and the ministry of transport, works and infrastructure to get copies of the agreements signed on the Senegambia Bridge, before giving evidence based analysis. We hope they will give full disclosure of the documents for the sake of accountability and transparency to safeguard national interest.
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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 22 Jul 2023 : 00:35:27
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https://standard.gm/op-explains-proposed-mode-of-payment-in-senegambia-bridge-agreement/
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By Omar Bah on July 21st 2023
The director of press and public relations at the Office of the President, Amie Bojang-Sissoho, has revealed that the proposed $100 million government recycling deal with Africa50 involves a three-installment payment.
In a news conference last Saturday, Finance Minister Seedy Keita somehow managed to evade journalists’ questions on whether the $100 million will be paid in one-time payment or installments.
But speaking in a Star FM interview to be aired today, Director Bojang said: “They will first give the government $20 million immediately after signing the agreement, $50 million, and then $30 million in the same year.”
She defended the agreement and insisted that the bridge was not sold or mortgaged.
She said the government entered into the agreement to secure instant funds to finance new infrastructure projects in line with the president’s development programmes.
“The government has realised that there are still some issues at the bridge in terms of collection of revenue that, if addressed, could bring more revenue. This is why they decided to approach Africa50,” she said.
Madam Bojang said Africa50 will be responsible for collecting fees and managing the bridge but the bridge remains Gambian owned.
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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 20 Jul 2023 : 11:34:49
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https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/africa50-deal-minister-says-gambia-will-have-3-strains-of-cash-flow
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Africa50 deal: Minister says Gambia will have 3 strains of cash flow
Jul 19, 2023,
By: Ali Jaw
Seedy Keita, the minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, has told reporters that The Gambia will get three strains of cash flow in the Senegambia Bridge deal reached with Africa50.
The minister made the disclosure during a news conference held on Saturday at the Petroleum House in Brusubi as he shed light on the controversial Senegambia Bridge deal.
“The special purpose vehicle (Africa50) is not a foreign company. It is going to be a Gambian domicile company. So we are not dealing with a foreign company here. All operations and the laws governing these operations would be the laws of the Gambia,” the minister said.
Thus, he furthered: “As such it will pay taxes on its operations. So basically we have three strains of cash flows: the upfront cash we are going to get, the dividend as shareholder and taxation arising from their operations. So these are some of the things.”
Mr Keita also clarified the issue of National Assembly ratification, which many Gambians assumed he needed before reaching such deals.
“I know a lot of questions would come, but I believe we should set this out. People quoted the constitution, saying it is a violation as the finance minister to sign agreement without consulting the National Assembly. In my short time as finance minister, I have re-signed more than five agreements, and in none of those agreements have the National Assembly given me the prior approval to say, ‘go ahead and sign.’
He added that the finance minister only goes to the National Assembly when there is a future obligation, for instance when it is a loan and the executive has cleared it and submitted it to the National Assembly for ratification.
“Normally, in a financing term, even your partner would put it as a condition of effectiveness, that this loan or financial facility would not come into force without the ratification of the National Assembly”
Mr Keita, however, stated that he welcomes the comments by members of the public.
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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 20 Jul 2023 : 11:20:29
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https://foroyaa.net/does-anybody-have-the-agreement-signed-by-the-gammbia-government-and-africa50-for-the-management-of-the-senegambia-bridge/
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Foroyaa has been searching for a copy of this agreement signed by the Gambia Government and Africa50 regarding the Senegambia Bridge. We had expected that in calling a press conference to clarify, the minister of finance and economic affairs and minister of works, construction and infrastructure would have given copies of the agreement to the media for circulation in the usual manner.
Unfortunately, opinions were expressed without explanation of the document that contained the facts. The paper is unable to do a fact check of what the minister said since it lacks the parent document. Instructions have been given to get the facts from the minister of finance or the permanent secretary, but were told that they are not in the jurisdiction.
We will pursue the matter with the ministry of works to get the concrete details of agreement in order to have the possibility of doing a comprehensive analysis of the substantive issues. Foroyaa hopes to produce a supplement of the subject matter to keep our readers fully informed of the essence and the implications of the agreement.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 17 Jul 2023 : 15:09:46
‘Senegambia Bridge not sold or mortgaged’
The Point: Jul 17, 2023,
By: Ali Jaw
https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/senegambia-bridge-not-sold-or-mortgaged
The Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Seedy Keita, told reporters on Saturday that the 100 million US-dollar deal with Africa50 is neither a sale transaction, mortgage or privatisation contract.
The minister was deliberating in a presser at the Petroleum Building at Brusubi, which was promptly convened to shed light on the Senegambia Bridge deal with Africa50, which has been heavily criticised and viewed by many as a bad move by the government.
Facing journalists, Minister Keita said: “We would say the discussion has really been very animated, and it came at the backdrop of an interview I granted while in Togo attending the shareholders’ meeting of Africa50, on the sidelines of which we signed two agreements. An interview was conducted by the CNBC Network. I was not even expecting to be that wide, because they just called me in a corner and I did the interview there.
“But the signature was a public ceremony, and we signed two agreements. One was the Joint Development Agreement. … They are asset recycling, and asset recycling is a financial instrument or financial terminology or arrangement that you go into for revenue-producing assets which provide predictable and reliable cash flow. Instead of waiting for long years to be receiving the cash flow in dribs, you take the monetised value, a significant amount of it upfront, from investors.”
“In layman's terms, it means you have the right cash flow, but instead of waiting for a scheduled future, you have investors who would be prepared to pay you today, and they will be patient to be collecting these streams of cash in the future.”
Minister Keita emphasised that the transaction they are embarking on is not a sale, mortgage or privatisation transaction but simply “a monetisation of the rights, because an asset has two characteristics: you have outright ownership and you have the rights accrued to that ownership.”
So we are separating that, and we are only selling forward the rights to the cash flows, which are in the form of tolls emanating from the bridge.
He furthered that in plain terms, it simply means transferring into cash the future cash flow.
“For example, we are now cash from the bridge every day but when we monetise, it is that right of collecting the revenue that you are giving to Africa50, which is an international organisation, and they will be the one to collect,” he explained.
Mr Keita also stated that it is a joint venture, adding: “It is not an asset recycling where we say, ‘you have right to these assets,’ and then we are hand soft until when the asset comes back to us. We are shareholders with Africa50.
He stated that the arrangement has it that Africa50 gets 87% shareholding, while the Government of The Gambia, represented by the Government of The Gambia in the board and in the governance structure, will get 12.5% shares.
“Those shares we have not paid for. Those shares are accrued to us because of the rights we have given them, in addition to the money that they are going to pay upfront. Normally when we do these types of transactions at arm’s length, you will have to pay for your entitlements to those shares. But these are [pro] bono shares they have accrued to us. That is the nature of the transaction.”
On the second agreement, he said: “The second agreement we signed is Heads of Terms. Heads of Terms in layman's terminology is like an MoU, an MoU in the sense that we are saying, ‘when we go into conceiving the concession proper, these are the broad outlines that the concession agreement will cover.’ The concession agreement will cover operation, maintenance, environmental, social and governance issues, fiduciary issues and the welfare of the infrastructure.
“There will be a better toll system that will be developed in order to ensure there will be transparency of revenue collection and reporting. Government being at the centre, at the table, will not be unaware of what is going on, because we will be on the board, but the management and operation will be delegated to Africa50, who is the private sector specialised in this.” |
| Momodou |
Posted - 17 Jul 2023 : 12:35:04
Assembly to summon finance minister over Senegambia Bridge deal
The Standard: July 17, 20230
By Tabora Bojang
https://standard.gm/assembly-to-summon-finance-minister-over-senegambia-bridge-deal/
The National Assembly will call the finance minister Seedy Keita for clarifications over the purported agreement he signed with Africa50 to manage the Senegambia Bridge.
The minister yesterday said the National Assembly is not needed in this arrangement which he said is not even binding yet.
However, many Gambians think the deal smacks of loan and should have been sent to the Assembly.
Last night, a credible source told The Standard that a letter requesting the minister to come before a relevant committee will be sent out today, Monday.
“An international deal of such nature should be subjected to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny and approval. So the Minister is being written to, to appear to answer some questions because it is parliament’s responsibility to keep the government in check and make sure its policies, programs and agreements serve the best interest of Gambians. The letter is already written and will be dispatched today,” our source added.
MINISTER SAYS PARLIAMENT NOT NEEDED OVER SENEGAMBIA BRIDGE AGREEMENT
The Standard: July 17, 20230
By Omar Bah
https://standard.gm/minister-says-parliament-not-needed-over-senegambia-bridge-agreement/
The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs has said Gambia government doesn’t need the National Assembly’s approval in a concession agreement it signed with Africa50 to manage the Senegambia Bridge.
A few days ago, Seedy Keita announced on CNBC Africa that the government of the Gambia has signed a $100 million agreement with Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African states, to manage and operate the Senegambia Bridge, a major crossing point connecting the south and north banks of the River Gambia. The government’s decision to sign the agreement without seeking the National Assembly’s approval generated a lot of criticism.
Addressing this and other criticisms at a media conference, Seedy Keita said there is no legal or financing agreement requiring the minister of finance to go before the National Assembly to ask them “I am going to do this transaction, can you allow me before I do it?”
He said, instead, the Public Finance Act, which empowers the ministry of finance, gives it the right and the legal authority to engage in and sign on behalf of the government any financing agreement, adding that what they signed is “not even yet a financing agreement because there is no obligation for the state to pay this from the consolidated fund”.
He said the $100 million will be paid through the cash flows at the bridge, and all the laws governing the agreement will be the laws of The Gambia, and Africa50 will pay tax.
“So, the arrangement we have with Africa50 is a concession agreement and not a loan or financing agreement. If the concession agreement is designed in such a way that a ratification is stipulated as a condition, definitely the National Assembly will be engaged,” he added.
“What we signed is only an MoU; we have not signed any binding agreement that has bounded this government to say this agreement must come into force. We just agreed on a framework, and that is what we have signed. Today, Africa50 has no right to the operation of the bridge. All we did was sign an outline to say this is the way forward. It is only when the concession agreement is finalised that it will come into effect,” he said.
The minister further disclosed government has signed two agreements with Africa50; Joint Development and Asset Recycling agreements.
“We want to make it clear that asset recycling is not a privatisation, sale, or mortgage. We are not doing anything like that. This is a nationally strategic and significant asset, and there is no way the government will undertake a process to sell it,” he said.
He added that the Senegambia Bridge was built by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Africa50 is a subsidiary of the bank.
“We are not dealing with a private company that may be driven by private motives but a development partner, just like we deal with the European Investment Bank, the World Bank, the IDB, and other development partners. Africa50 is owned by 31 shareholders; the largest shareholder is the AfDB, and the other shareholders are African countries, of which The Gambia is a member. So, in terms of opening up to tender, procurement procedure, and conflict of interest, we are dealing with a development partner, and that is very reassuring,” he said.
He said the arrangement is that Africa50, as the key financier, will get 87 percent of the shareholding and The Gambia will get 12.5 percent.
“We haven’t paid for those shares; they are accrued to us because of the right we have given them in addition to the money they are going to pay upfront. Normally, when you do this type of transaction at arm’s length, you will have to pay for your entitlement to your shares,” he said.
Also speaking to the press, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Ebrima Sillah said contrary to widespread reports of job losses, the staff who are currently operating the Senegambia Bridge are staff of the Accountant General’s Office and that all relevant stakeholders were consulted ahead of signing the MoU with Africa50. Minister Sillah said when the bridge was newly opened, the government was collecting D14 to D18 million per month, but since the operation was transferred to the Accountant General’s office, the collection has risen to D45 million and now D30 to D35 million monthly. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 16 Jul 2023 : 09:53:09
How legal is the Senegambia Bridge deal?
It is quite interesting to hear the minister of finance trying to justify the “mortgaging” of the Senegambia Bridge without going through legally accepted channels. Even the very fact that the government intends to take this “loan” of $100 million without going through the National Assembly makes it even more suspicious. The amount is not catered for in the annual budget and therefore, there is no approved budget line indicating how it is going to be spent, which means that they can spend it anyhow they want without any accountability.
Even though the NAMs are currently busy enjoying their newly acquired SUVs, but let’s hope that they would not hesitate to take up their oversight responsibilities by engaging the minister on the matter.
By Demba Ali Jawo |
| Momodou |
Posted - 15 Jul 2023 : 00:41:41
By Mustapha-Swandi K Darbo
Malagen
If it is too complicated, let's simplify. The government of the Gambia needs money. The public debt is unsustainably high. They come up with an innovative way of taking a loan.
Except this time, the creditor will take temporary ownership of the Senegambia Bridge to recover their $100m and $15m interest. They have 25 years or anytime feasible to raise their $115m from a bridge that, even under Gambia's management, at one point raised up to a $1m a month, according to finance minister Seedy Keita.
The $100m, in my understanding, is a loan which is separate from the payment arrangement. Call it assets recycling or whatever.
If I am right, isn't this arrangement by the finance minister completely against the constitution as such loans should have been approved by the lawmakers, nevermind the high-sounding slogan they attached to it?
Loan or not? What do you think? |
| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Jul 2023 : 12:11:35
ASSEMBLY PETITIONED OVER ‘MORTGAGING’ OF SENEGAMBIA BRIDGE
The Standard: July 13, 20230
By Omar Bah
https://standard.gm/assembly-petitioned-over-mortgaging-of-senegambia-bridge/
Nuha Ceesay, a Gambian finance system specialist and PhD research fellow based in the UK, has written an open petition to the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly over what he called flaws in the mortgaging of the Senegambia Bridge.
Last Friday Finance Minister Seedy Keita announced on CNBC Africa that the government of the Gambia has signed a $100 million agreement with Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African states, to manage and operate the Senegambia Bridge, a major crossing point connecting the south and north banks of the River Gambia.
The minster further said the agreement is an innovative financing mechanism whereby public assets are now put in private management under asset recycling and the cash flows that are coming from there will be used towards generating additional infrastructure assets.
However in his petition to the Assembly Public Petitions Committee chairman, Swaibou Touray, shared with The Standard, Mr Ceesay wrote: “These agreements are flawed in a number of fronts. Firstly, the agreements were signed in complete contravention of section 155 sub sections 2 and 3 of the 1997 constitution of the Gambia which states that any loan, because this is a loan, shall be laid before the National Assembly. Secondly, there is no consideration from the government about the long-term revenue loss to the country. I believe that the minister of finance did not take into consideration or even carefully evaluate the financial implications of putting Senegambia Bridge as collateral to secure $100 million funding. The Senegambia Bridge currently brings in revenues of between D9 million and D15 million every month and this equates to at most D180 million per annum”.
According to Mr Ceesay, the minister mentioned that the funds would be used for infrastructure development without indicating how he would substitute the loss of D180 million per year. “I know the only option left with the government is to issue more treasury bills among others to meet their recurrent expenditure needs. This means more borrowing adding to the already bloated debt stock of over D100 billion (D102bn per April 2023 figures)”, he said.
Ceesay noted that another flaw in the agreements is that the government has no effective regulatory frameworks and governance structures, which are essential to ensure appropriate oversight, risk management, and accountability in this asset recycling processes, which explains why they never showed any respect to the National Assembly by blatantly abrogating the spirit and letter of section 155 of the Constitution.
“Honourable Touray, despite empirical, speculative and theoretical evidence dictating that strong regulations and safeguards are necessary to protect public interests, prevent monopolistic practices, and ensure adequate service provision, this government has proven time and again that they don’t have it in them to serve the Gambian public adequately,” Ceesay said.
He further revealed that in any infrastructure endeavour, there is the need to consider potential social and environmental impacts and that infrastructure projects resulting from asset recycling should adhere to sustainability principles, address environmental concerns, and prioritise social benefits.
“There is evidence that the mortgaging of Senegambia bridge will result in increases in toll charges and potential job losses,” Ceesay said, and then asked the National Assembly committee to take the following actions: summon the finance minister to explain why he flaunted section 155 sub-sections 2 and 3 of the 1997 constitution; demand that the minister publish for public consumption the sensitivity analysis if any they have performed to arrive at this valuation of the bridge and conclude that US$100 million is the current value of the bridge; apply the powers vested in you as the sixth legislature to take action against those who are involved in this day light robbery; apply the provisions of section 155 sub-section 3 of the constitution and declare these agreements null and void in accordance with the constitution of the Gambia; demand a public apology from the finance minister for giving you false information when he stated that the total public debt of the Gambia as at end of year 2022 was D9 billion when actually, he submitted to the World Bank that the true figure was D101billion”. |
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