By Tabora Bojang
The National Assembly has recommended that the Inspector General of Police investigate the project coordinator, procurement specialist and contract committee members for alleged breach of procurement rules,in the award of a contract for the procurement of 14 Toyota Prado vehicles for the World Bank funded sub-Saharan African Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Plus Project (SWEDD), under the ministry of health.
According to the auditor general, the contract was overpriced leading to financial losses amounting to D37,394,000.
The audit found that the unit price paid per vehicle was D5,871,000 totalling D82,194,000. However, KMF Technologies, the company contracted to procure the 14 vehicles, purchased 10 vehicles from CFAO Motors at D3,200,000 per vehicle and imported the remaining vehicles which led to “significant financial losses of D37,394,000.”
The auditors observed that this could have been avoided if the vehicles were purchased by the Ministry directly from CFAO or another authorised dealer rather than KMF Technologies.
The National Assembly Finance and Public Accounts Committee FPAC in its report approved by the plenary on the audited financial statement of public institutions 2020-2024 pointed out that this procurement exhibited multiple concerns including administrative and financial non-compliance, lack of value for money, and indications of potential conflict of interest among the supplier, project coordination unit staff and contract committee members.
FPAC observed that the entity selected to procure the vehicles (KMF Technologies) is an IT services provider and is neither registered as a motor vehicle dealer nor authorised to sell Toyota vehicles in The Gambia.
“Investigations revealed that KMF Technologies purchased 10 vehicles from CFAO Gambia Ltd. through AYK Rentals, circumventing standard procurement procedures. Further inquiry disproved claims that the vehicles were imported from Mobility Ltd., confirming instead that the vehicles were imported by CFAO Gambia Ltd. under a duty waiver from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs,” the report said. FPAC recommends that the Project Coordinator, Procurement Specialist, KMF Technologies, AYK Rental, CFAO as well as the contracts committee be investigated by the IGP within 60 days of the tabling of the report. It also recommends further investigation of the estimated overpayment of D37,394,000.00 and to ensure a full recovery from the former Project Coordinator, contracts committee members and procurement staff and to identify any undeclared conflicts of interest between PCU officials and KMF Technologies Ltd.
FPAC further observed that the procurement process of the 14 vehicles failed to adhere to the GPPA Act 2022 and World Bank Procurement Guidelines as there was “no transparent criteria” for vendor selection processing “disregarded authorised dealership” channels.
“The IGP must immediately initiate an independent investigation into the procurement process to identify and hold accountable individuals responsible for the irregularities and recover overpaid funds through appropriate legal and administrative measures,” it recommended.
Lawmakers further revealed that there was evidence of “bid rigging, manipulation, and potential collusion” between the supplier and procurement officials as invoices were issued to the selected supplier prior to bid evaluation and contract award, calling on the IGP to launch an independent investigation to examine the role of the Project Coordination Unit (PCU), the Contracts Committee members, CFAO Motors, and KMF Technologies Ltd in the procurement process.
The committee also found that the 14 Toyota Prado vehicles were misallocated by being issued to the Ministry of Health’s PCU, Directorate of Gender, Office of the Vice President, Education Unit, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Directorate of Gender Equality instead of the Project implementation partners on the ground. It stated that had a proper needs assessment been conducted, these vehicles should not have been allocated to offices that already had vehicles in their possession.
