By Kebba Ansu Manneh
Impeccable source closed to this medium has revealed that four (4) containers stuffed with medical equipment worth more than two million five hundred thousand Euros (€2.5million) is been languishing at the Banjul Seaport since 2019.
The Source who begs for anonymity disclosed that the containers of medical equipment were shipped to Banjul by three investors who want to invest in supply of medical equipment to The Gambia after preliminary meeting with President Adama Barrow.
The investors, Roman Ziemian, Anastasiia and Stefan Karl of FutureNet Company could not come back to The Gambia because of their alleged involvement in the 2019 diplomatic passport saga case currently in court.
“These are genuine investors who want to come and invest in the health sector and help the country to move. However, they are yet to receive clearance to come back to the country in order to kick start their project,” the source adduced.
According to the source, the main reason why the three investors could not come back to the country is due to their alleged involvement in the passport saga, disclosing that the investors were reported negatively in the media on the passport scandal were they played no role.
“The content of the four containers are valued at two million five hundred thousand Euros (€2.5million) arrived in the Gambia on the 10th and 30th December, 2019. These containers were shipped for the Gambia government but by the time the containers arrived the passport scandal came up and these investors could not come for fear of arrest and prosecution,” our sourced revealed.
The source further revealed that the arrival of the medical containers was conveyed to Health Minister, Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh with the view to help them get the clearance for both the investors and the containers, revealing that minister advised the investors to donate the material to the Fatoumatta Bah Barrow Foundation (FaBB).
The Source further revealed that: “The First Lady was also aware of the languishing of the containers at the Seaport and promised to help facilitate official invitation and clearance from the government. However, she assigned one Halima Tambedou to help out the investors but to their bewilderment Tambedou told them that they should clear the containers and packed them at Statehouse for the First Lady’s Foundation that the investors refused.
The source added that President Adama Barrow was also informed about the languishing of the containers at the Banjul Seaport, stating that the President’s reaction was furious on why the containers remained at the port.
The informant disclosed to The Voice Newspaper that the Investors are currently devastated regarding the situation as the containers have been anchored at the port since 2019, arguing that the continuous stay of the medical items at the ports will only lead to the spoiling of some of the materials that are badly needed in the hospitals.
Accordingly, the source revealed that the contents of the four containers includes and not limited to 6 Hemodialysis system, 10 infusion stander, 4 OP Lamps, 1 medical cabin, 4 Mammography station with full equipment, Siemens Osmosis system, 4 Documents Desk Dreager, 4 Anesthesia First Aid and Surgery System, 4 Sonography General Electri, among others. The source called on the Gambia government to do all it can in its power to allow the clearance of the container at the ports before the equipment gets spoiled.
