Chief of Staff Justifies D32M Presidential Office Expenditures, Including D926,000 First Lady Flight

By Fatou Sillah

Chief of Staff and Minister for the Presidency, Mod K. Ceesay, has defended payments totaling over D32 million made by the Office of the President (OP), including a D926,000 flight for the First Lady, stating that all expenditures were properly documented and necessary for government operations.

In an interview with West Coast Radio, Ceesay explained that the funds supported the operations of the OIC Secretariat and other essential government activities, all of which were properly budgeted and accounted for.

Addressing concerns raised in the National Audit Office’s report regarding the procurement of vehicles and the First Lady’s flight, he said the audit comparisons did not reflect the actual procurement realities.

“At the time they were auditing, they did not receive the documentation and the disclosure of the information. But they forget that the same entity, the National Audit Office, audited the OIC secretariat and has looked at and verified all those items. And we are satisfied and dropped it from the audit,” he stated.

Ceesay added, “We hold our activities and pass this money to the OIC Secretariat to continue their operation. All the procurement and all the documentation were there; everything was concluded along the due process, and they were appropriately budgeted,” he said.

Regarding the flagged purchase of a pickup vehicle, he noted it was a secondhand Ram American model used to transport media personnel and journalists. “That pickup is a Ram American type. The audit comparison was slightly faulty,” he said.

Regarding the First Lady’s business-class flight, Ceesay explained that the ticket was purchased for approximately D900,000, while auditors had quoted a lower range of D564,000 to D600,000 based on airline agent estimates.

He noted that ticket prices fluctuate, and if the purchase had been made earlier, the cost might have been lower. “At the time of the audit, ticket prices would have been slightly lower if purchased earlier. Our procurement process is such that the decision is always late,” he said, emphasizing that such factors should have been considered before concluding there was overpricing.