By Sirrah Touray
In the ongoing parliamentary enquiry into the sale of former president Jammeh’s assets, the minister of finance and economic affairs Seedy Keita appeared to give information about the sale and disposal of a fleet aircrafts seized from the former head of state.
Keita told the enquiry that Cabinet approved the sale of two aircraft in 2018, but some documents relating to the sale were delayed and not received on time.
He mentioned that correspondence about the sale was still on the way and had not been fully processed. He confirmed that five aircrafts are not operational while one aircraft is still in Germany and that he does not know why the aircraft remained there or what plans exist for it.
Regarding the sale of other aircraft, Keita revealed that three planes were sold for a total of $500,000, with the prices for individual aircrafts reportedly ranging from $150,000 to $240,000.
Keita also noted that bank transfers relating to these sales showed amounts slightly less than the declared sale prices, adding confusion to the financial trail.
He said some of the planes were not registered with the Civil Aviation Authority, which holds official records, adding that this lack of registration made it difficult to track the aircrafts’ history.
The minister explained that government funds from the sales should be deposited quickly into the Central Bank, but this did not always happen, highlighting issues with the timing and handling of these funds.
