A top Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) official has informed the Inquiry Commission on Local Government matters that the Brikama Area Council has no inspection and examination committee.

Ebrima Sanyang, GPPA head of Procurement Policy and Operations, testified before the Commission on Monday and Tuesday to shed light on procurement compliance issues by councils across the regions.

Going by the 2019 Procurement Review Report, he noted that there was no management to oversee the procurement processes, and that there was also no contract documents in place for most of the transactions, especially those regarding fuel purchase.

Mr Sayang mentioned that the absence of these affected the procurement process, as they are requirements stipulated by law.

He cited section 47 subsection 1 of the GPPA Act 2018, which made it mandatory for the area councils to establish contract committees and be supported by a procurement unit.

Moreover, he also disclosed that the contracts committee of an area council has three (3) permanent members - the CEO, the director of Finance and the procurement officer and other co-opted members.

He told commissioners that the contracts committee is responsible for planning and processing procedures of procurement, providing specifications, as well as contracts management.

Quizzed whether the Brikama Area Council had contracts committee, the witness suggested that since it is a legal stipulation, the area council must have had it.

The counsel asked the witness for particular evidence from the report hinting that the Brikama Area Council had a contracts committee, but the witness could not provide any evidence of its existence.

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