By Kaddy Jawo
Lawmakers on Monday asked the agriculture minister to give them an account of the D4.5 million or US$100,000 donated by the Chinese Embassy for the flood victims of Kuntaur an amount that has still not been utilised.
Lamin Dibba said the funds have not been utilised due to “circumstances beyond [their] control” and that the money is still lodged at the Trust Bank account of the National Disaster Management Agency.
Minister Dibba added that the rehabilitation works of the Kuntaur Bridge and the dykes which the funds were meant for are being carried out by the Bin Khalifa Foundation through the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Dakar through a grant of US$1.5m and the work on the bridge is in progress while work on the dykes will commence next month.
The Kuntaur flood occurred in September 2017 following unprecedented heavy rains. The government took flak for its seeming delayed response to the disaster.
