By Tabora Bojang
The National Audit Office has flagged a discrepancy of D80 million between the loan schedule and the amount paid by Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) to TK Export, a company based in the United Arab Emirates for the procurement of 70 buses.
Presenting the audit findings before the National Assembly Public Enterprises Committee PEC on Friday, NAO official Fatoumatta Jarju said during a review of the corporation’s ledger, they noted a payment totalling D872,607,570.58 equivalent to €13,572,780.39 made by SSHFC to TK Export in Dubai for payment of buses following a directive issued by the Office of the President signed by former secretary to cabinet Ebrima Ceesay instructing the SSHFC to sign a contract with TK Export for the procurement of buses to provide public transport.
According to Ms Jarju, SSHFC made two separate payments to the Dubai company, the first being procurement of 50 buses amounting to D559,621,440, and the other for the procurement of 20 buses for D232,286,528.60. The two payments totalling D790,907,968 were given as loan to the government and were to be repaid in five years from January 2023 to January 2027 with an annual interest rate of 6 percent.
“However, there was no formal contract or agreement between the government of The Gambia and SSHFC to detail the repayment, obligations or terms and conditions and we noted that the government did not make any repayment towards this loan up to the time of finalisation of the audit,” Jarju told members.
“We also noted a difference of D80,699,602 between the loan schedule of D791,907,968.50 and total payment of D872,607,570,58 made by the corporation for the procurement of the buses,” she added.
The auditor further observed that for the corporation to make “this substantial expenditure without a robust repayment schedule may not align with its mandate to protect pension funds,” adding that the whole arrangement is risky in terms of investment since there was no repayment reassurance.
She noted that the government further complicated matters with a subsequent directive from the Office of the President instructing the corporation to redirect the loan arrangement to Gambia Transport Service Corporation with the government to provide subsidies to support the bus operation.
The audit also revealed that the selection of TK Export in UAE lacked competitive bidding and was single-sourced without GPPA approval raising concerns about transparency of vendor selection.
The auditors recommended that the corporation formalise the terms of the loan with the government including comprehensive repayment plan, terms, interest rates, duration and penalties.
SSHFC management response
Responding to these audit queries including the D80 million discrepancy between the loan amount and total sum paid to the vendor, the SSHFC explained that the arrangement went beyond procurement of 70 buses as it included other components such as supply of spare parts, specific tools and equipment, ticketing software, solar power bus shelters, a completely refurbished workshop, well-equipped mobile workshop and deployment of engineers.
According to the management, there was a repayment plan signed with the government as part of the formal loan arrangement and that it did not go through GPPA since GTSC is a private limited company. The management further stated that TK Export was chosen because it has been the sole supplier of buses to GTSC since inception.
