By Arret Jatta
Continuing her testimony before the Local Government Commission yesterday, former CEO of Kanifing Municipal Council, Sainabou Martin-Sonko, explained the irregularities surrounding the council’s ‘mbalit’ trucks.
Asked by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez whether the negotiations with Espace Motors about the Mbalit Project had already started by the time she was appointed CEO, she replied: “No, when I joined the council they had already acquired the trucks. Everything was done and concluded and the trucks were in operation.”
She added that at that time there were 19 trucks and she issues with the contract agreement.
“What was your concern?” Counsel Gomez asked.
“In my briefing with the mayor the first day that I reported to work, he explained to me the establishment of the Mbalit Project and informed me that it was a public private partnership (PPP) with Espace Motors.”
She added that her understanding of PPP was that the council was not supposed to spend or be responsible for the repayment of the facility that was used to acquire the trucks.
She however explained that that was not the case as she later learned that KMC paid for the full procurement of the trucks.
She said she learned these when she went to the minister’s office and the minister told her that the mayor sought his advice about the project and he advised him to liaise with the PPP Unit of the Ministry of Finance but the mayor did not do that and went ahead with what he wanted to do; pass a general council resolution to work with Espace Motors on PPP basis
She said she realised there was no PPP as the trucks were fully paid for by the council, and Espace was just used to buy the trucks and ship them.
She also said “KMC inflated the prices of these trucks because to import that kind of a truck is under D3 million, but the council stated D5 million as the price of one truck”.
Asked whether she believed the prices were inflated, the witness stated: “Yes that’s right.”
Hearings continue.
