NAMs Recommends Chairman Of Eco-Lodges Contracts Committee Be reprimanded For Misguiding Committee 

Hon. Suwaibou Touray, Chairman of The Public Petition Committee 

By Ramatoulie Jawo 

The National Assembly’s Public Petition Committee has called for disciplinary action against the Chairperson of the Eco-Lodges Contracts Committee for providing misleading financial analysis to committee members. This recommendation was part of a report addressing a petition from concerned staff of the Gambia Tourism Board.

During the presentation to the National Assembly, the committee’s chair, Hon. Suwaibou Touray, emphasized that the Chairperson of the Contracts Committee should face consequences for distorting the financial performance evaluation, which favored Lerr Group Company. The report highlighted that Lerr Group’s financials indicated overtrading and liquidity issues, which were overlooked by the Chairperson, who also serves as the Director of Finance and Administration.

“The Chairman of the Contracts Committee should be reprimanded for misguiding the Contracts Committee members by giving a wrong analysis of the financial performances, which eventually affected the scoring or the evaluation process; this was done to give favor to Lerr Group Company.

“Lerr Financial Performance shows that the company is overtrading and has some Liquidity issues, which he failed to do as the Director of Finance and Administration, doubling as the Chairman of the Contracts Committee,” the committee stated. The petition accused the ecotourism project for rural communities of financial mismanagement by the Director of Finance, who is also the Contracts Committee Chairperson, and the former Director General for personal gain. It was estimated that D75,000,000 would suffice to construct and furnish all five eco-lodges, yet the contract signed with Lerr Group for D38.5 million did not adhere to proper financial and auditing standards.

“The Director of Finance had advised the contract’s committee wrongly on the way they have evaluated the ecotourism projects and awarded the contract to Lerr Group on the basis that this contractor will pre-finance the project only to realize that this is not true,” the petition’s claims. 
Hon. Touray explained that Mr. Ousainou Senghor, Former Director of Finance & Administration and Head of Contracts Committee at the GT Board, clarified that the decision to award the contract to Lerr Group was not made solely by himself, but rather by the contract’s committee. This committee comprises four directorates under the GT Board: Director of Finance and Administration, Director of Marketing, Director of Product Development, Investment & Culture, Director of Quality Control and Licensing, and a Procurement Officer who acts as the secretary.
He emphasized that the committee, headed by Mr. Ousainou Senghor, recognized the Director General’s ultimate authority to approve or disapprove the committee’s recommendations regarding contracts. Therefore, while Mr. Senghor chaired the committee that selected Lerr Group, the final responsibility lies with the Director General.
Hon. Touray further highlighted that it is clear the contract’s committee should be led by the Director General, as they are the accounting officer of the board, rather than the Director of Finance and Administration.

“Looking at the testimony by the former Director General and the Director of Finance on the setting up of the Contracts Committee, excluding the Director General from the Contracts Committee was a huge decision taken by the GT Board but was not in line with the GPPA Act and regulations,” hon. Touray said.