Gambia: 'KAC Awards Contracts to Unregistered Suppliers'

8 August 2023
The Point (Banjul)
By Ali Jaw

The Director General and Director of Procurement Policy and Operations at The Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA), Phoday Jaiteh and Ebrima Sanyang respectively, have told the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that the Kerewan Area Council (KAC) has been awarding contracts to 'unregistered suppliers.'

The top public procurement officials made the disclosure on Wednesday while giving evidence before the Commission on the 2020 and 2021 compliance review reports of the Kerewan Area Council.

In their testimony, they established that in 2020, KAC awarded contracts worth over 36,000 dalasis to unregistered suppliers. Again, they confirmed that in 2021, the council also awarded contracts amounting to 38,800 dalasis to unregistered suppliers.

Ebrima Sanyang told the commissioners that this was a clear violation of the national procurement laws and regulations.

He said that non-registration translates to non-payment of taxes, maintaining that there could be bias in the awarding of contracts and that the eligible suppliers were not contracted.

Moreover, the GPPA Act provides support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, the Kerewan Area Council was not doing that with the claim that their area does not have SMEs.

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