Gambia Port Authority has in strong words denied allegations of illegal construction of police stations at Mankamangkunda home town of President Adama Barrow.
A statement signed by managing director Ousman M Jobarteh and made available to The Voice at 1.42 AM Sunday morning said, the Inspector General of Police sent a request to the GPA for the financing of the construction of 3 police stations in URR.
The three station namely, Bakadaji, Mankamangkunda and Fatoto, which the Authority had considered under its CSR along the lines of similar interventions in the health, education, agriculture, sports and other sectors.
The statement further pointed out that the design, tender and supervision was contracted to GAMWORKS under a Delegated Management Contract (DMC) and the construction works were awarded to the 3 most responsive local firms that submitted bids.
“Notwithstanding, the appropriate governance procedures were followed at the level of the Ministry of Finance and the GPA Board of Directors and decision was obtained for the relevant payments to be offset against the liability that the GPA owes to Government, which is normally settled in bi-annual installments,” the statement said.
The statement noted that the request for the financing of these projects did not ensue from directives issued by the Office of the President.
“It is hoped that the above will serve to shed light on the handling of the URR police stations project,” the statement said.