By. Kebba Ansu Manneh
The fate of the second phase of Gambia government Covid-19, taxpayers rice distribution scheme, amounting to D222million (two hundred and twenty two million dalasi) is still unknown. This is more than one year after the completion of the first round of the distribution in February, 2021.
The Voice Newspaper has been reliably informed that 9,334 (nine thousand three hundred and thirty four) poor and most vulnerable households in Central River Region (CRR) are yet to receive their supplies, while more than 2,000 metric tons of rice is yet to be delivered to beneficiaries across the country.
“We are very concerned about the fate of our relief supply that supposed to be delivered since April, 2021.We received our first consignment in February, 2021, and the second consignment should have followed in April but up to today no grain of rice is receive,” Ebrima Manneh, a beneficiary of the Government Rice Distribution Scheme disclosed.
He added: “Since last year we have been following this supply through the Ministry of Trade, Agriculture, WFP, and NDMA but we are not getting any positive response from either of them. We were told that these supplies were bought by the taxpayers meant to help the poor and the most vulnerable people across the country that should have been supplied since April, 2021. But I can inform you that up to today no supply arrived.”
A local Councilor who prefers anonymity said he has personally been engaging the stakeholders on this relief package, noting that anytime he enquire a notice of one or two weeks is always given by the stakeholders but honour.
He called on the Gambian government to launch investigations into the Rice Distribution Scheme that was launched by the Vice President. Reminding that the delay in the supply of relief supply to the vulnerable including women headed households and elderly headed households is frustrating and unbearable.
“I belief something is holding this supply and is only the government who can intervene and resolve this matter. Anytime we enquire about the supply we are always told that that ‘either next week or two your supply will come’ but this is to no avail,” the local Councilor explained.
Ebrima Sissawo, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Trade attributed the delay to some procurement procedures that needed to be followed, noting that the procurement procedures is completed, suppliers are paid and this will be followed by deliveries.
However, he failed to disclose what the lapses in the procurement procedures are and when the deliveries are to be done, but reiterated that the Ministry of Trade has completed all the procurements procedures and Ministry of Agriculture has also paid all the suppliers.
According to him, some suppliers have already started delivering their supplies at the WFP warehouse in the build-up to start the distribution. He added that various stakeholders have recently concluded discussions with WFP in a bit to expedite the distribution processes.
Our efforts to reach out to WFP proved futile in a bit to ascertain why the organisation is yet to deliver these relief supplies to the country’s poor and vulnerable.
However, The Voice Newspaper has been reliably informed that eleven (11) Suppliers that were contracted for the supply have been fully paid, hinting that out of these only seven (7) suppliers have delivered as promised.
He said four (4) other suppliers who have been fully paid but yet to deliver their consignments led to the delay in the deliveries, and these are the supplies earmarked to be distributed during the second round of supply of the relief package.
It could be recalled that in January, 2021, Gambia Government in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) launched the D222 million), taxpayer Rice Distribution Scheme meant to provide emergency Covid-19, response to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.
The emergency food assistance targets some three hundred and forty-two thousand (342, 000) people, forty-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty (42, 750) households across all regions and municipalities of the country as part of its Covid-19 response.
Each household will receive 50kgs bag of rice per month for a period of four months running from February to May, 2021.
The food assistance priorities families with less than four-month food stock, surviving on daily wages without regular income or remittances; households with malnourished children and chronically ill individuals, and women headed or elderly headed households.
A total of 9,334 households in CRR are expected to benefit from this massive Gambia Government food distribution. The rural phase of the scheme was launched by Minister of Agriculture Amie Fabureh and World Food Program (WFP), Country Director Yasuhiro Tsumura in January, 2021, whereby 39 communities received their supply.