Gov’t loses 7-month share to Securiport
The Gambia government has lost a seven-month share to Securiport, according to a recent report published by the National Audit Office (NAO), after auditing the contract awarded to Securiport for the management of immigration security services at the Banjul International Airport.
“Since the collection of security fee started in September 2020 to April 2021, there was no transfer of 25% government share to GCAA account. This is contrary to the provision of the contract,” the report reveals.
However, the report adds that a review of the GCAA bank account showed that the authority only started receiving its first 25% share on 20 May 2021, 7 months after collections started, amounting to D16,452,987.3 and no evidence of payment was made in the dollar, pound and Euro accounts in same period.
The audit office further notes that the above “is a deliberate breach” of an important provision of the contract by Securiport at the first start of the implementation of the project.
The report further states that “there is serious lack of monitoring by the Government of The Gambia” through GCAA over the operations of the project.
Additionally, the audit office has recommended that Securiport be liable for the gross violation of the contract and compensate the Government of The Gambia for any financial loss during the period in question.
The report made by NAO also recommends that, henceforth, cash collections should be deposited into the joint account and be shared monthly based on the dictates of the contract.
Findings from the contract
Section 2.2.1.1 (ii) of the contract states: “The GCAA will open conjointly with Securiport a bank account designated for this purpose to be jointly managed by GCAA and Securiport.
“This bank account will be opened with irrecoverable instructions to transfer the balance of the account on a monthly basis to the GCAA and Securiport: 75% (Seventy-five per cent) or USD15 (Fifteen United States dollars) for Securiport and 25% (Twenty-five per cent) or USD5 (five United States dollars) for the GCAA.”Source: The Point
