By: Binta Jaiteh
In a bid to ensure transparency and accountability for a‘questionable timber seizure agreement’ between Gambia government and Senegal government, the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of Gambia National Assembly (NA) has echoed in Banjul that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to probe a suspected agreement of ‘ ‘timber seizure’ in Gambia territory between the two sister countries;Gambia and Senegal.
The Chairman of FPAC, Hon. Alllagie. S. Darboe, who was reacting to responses to the National Assembly resolutions by the National Audit Office (NAO), and Accountant General Department (AGD), referenced the records of NA saying that there was no formal trace of agreement signed between Gambia and Senegalinvolving timber.
“Payment made from proceeds was lodged in a special or below-the-line account. The quote number provided was jointly administered by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs,” FPAC Chairman clarified.
As a way forward, the committee urged the Accountant General (AG) to provide the agreement details and the money generated from the confiscated timber as thematter was to be referred to the IGP to mount aninvestigation and report back to the National Assembly for further action.
Responding, Agnes Macaulay, Accountant General vividly informed the committee that the Office of the President usually approves reimbursements fromtimber proceeds, adding that she was able to secure some documents yesterday but was quick to clarified, saying she did not say that there was an agreement to effect with a sharing ratio but some documents weresubmitted through WhatsApp.
“Going through the documents, I did not come across any revenue sharing between the two countries,” she added.
Allagie Mbowe, a member of FPAC emphasized that they as members only interested in the formal agreement as documentary evidence of sharing ratio between Gambia Ministry of Finance and the government of Senegal.
“This is government revenue, items were seized in our land and the proceeds should be directed to the Gambian government. We want to know who authorized the transfer of a portion of the money to the Senegalese government,” Hon. Mbowe demanded.
Kebba Lang Fofana, another member of FPAC insisted that the AG did indicate that there was a sharing ratio that was why they ordered her to report back to them, not to cast aspersion on anybody but to ensure the production of a ‘formal agreement’.
Recently, NA passed a resolution dated 14 and 18September 2023, ordering the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to provide the agreement in question between the two countries and related financial records.
