Kebba Ansu Manneh
At least four major rice importing companies operating in the country have defaulted to supply the Gambia Government with over two thousand three hundred and eight five metric tons (2, 385.70 MT) of rice equivalent to forty-six thousand five hundred 50kg bags of rice, The Voice can report.
Reliable sources that spoke with The Voice Newspaper on condition of anonymity disclosed that the four major rice importers that defaulted to deliver their supplies to Gambia Government are Win Win Oils Company, Soninkara Enterprise, Rahma Trading and Muhammed Mahmoud Trading. Revealing that, these four companies were fully paid to deliver the Covid-19 rice to the World Food Programme warehouses in Jeshwang.
Our sources continued revealed further that Win Win Oils Company is yet to deliver 2, 070.20 metric tons equivalent to 45, 000 bags of 50kgs rice, Rahma Trading 75 metric tons of rice equivalent to 1500 bags of 50kgs rice, while Soninkara Enterprise is also yet to deliver 190 metric tons equivalent to 4000 bags of 50kgs rice.
Source went on disclosed that another defaulter, Muhammed Mahmoud Trading, who supposed to deliver 50 metric tons equivalent to 1000bags of 50kgs rice only delivered the supply yesterday at the World Food Programme warehouse in Jeshwang.
This medium have done every effort to reach out to these suppliers through their Chief Executive Officers including Demba Hydara of Soninkara, Alassan Ceesay of Rahman Trading and Alagie Kebbeh of Win Win Oils Company both declined to comment on the matter.
However, this medium has also been reliably informed that the matter is now forwarded with the Police Fraud Squad who has already launched an investigation into the matter but our efforts to get the side of the police through their Public Relations Office also proved futile.
It could be recalled that in January, 2021, Gambia Government in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) launched the two hundred and twenty-two million dalasi (D222million), tax-payer 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 nine thousand three hundred and thirty four (9334) 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, where 39 communities received their suppliers.