Africa-Press – Gambia. The General Manager of the Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSC), Mr. Seedy Kanyi, has confirmed the company’s involvement in the valuation of seventy (70) vehicles belonging to former President Yahya Jammeh. However, he firmly denied that GTSC played any role in the sale of the vehicles, explaining that the company opted out of the sales process due to its prior role in the valuation exercise.
Speaking on his interactions with the Janneh Commission, Mr. Kanyi clarified that he was never formally summoned as a witness. He recalled, however, a brief meeting with the Commission’s Lead Counsel, Mrs. Amie Bensouda, sometime in either 2018 or 2019. He said he attended the meeting, held at a hotel, alongside Mr. Khalifa Ceesay, then head of GTSC’s Technical Department.
According to Mr. Kanyi, the meeting revolved around a proposal for GTSC to consider purchasing certain buses believed to be owned either by the former president or the State House. He stressed that the invitation to this meeting was verbal and not in writing.
Detailing the valuation process, Mr. Kanyi stated that it began in 2017 and was completed in November 2018, when GTSC submitted its valuation report. He added that during his meeting with Mrs. Bensouda, he insisted that GTSC receive a formal written request before assessing any such proposal.
“I hinted that it would be an open conflict of interest for GTSC to assess those buses that we are talking about purchasing and that it is not good to go near them or buy them, and that was the engagement on this matter,” Mr. Kanyi said.
He said that after requesting the Commission to send a formal letter, GTSC never received any correspondence. “That was the end of it,” he remarked. He added, “As far as I am aware, GTSC never received those buses despite the urgent need for fleet expansion at the time. I made a deliberate decision not to pursue the acquisition.”
In a letter to the National Assembly Committee prior to his appearance on Wednesday, Mr. Kanyi stated that he did not recall seeing the valuation letter dated 16 November 2018 from his office, which was signed by then Mechanical Engineer, Ousman Joof, on his behalf.
“If any such letters were received at GTSC, I’m not aware of them, and if they had come through my office, I would typically have minuted them for further action. However, I will check my records for such correspondences,” he wrote.
When he appeared before the committee, Mr. Kanyi said that upon further investigation, he confirmed he had authorized both Mr. Khalifa Ceesay and Mr. Ousman Joof to undertake the valuation exercise. “Mr. Joof did not write anything as a rogue officer or so; it was written based on authority from the General Manager’s office,” he clarified.
In a letter dated 7 December 2017, the Janneh Commission identified 26 buses located at various sites. When asked if he was aware of the letter, Mr. Kanyi responded, “No, I was out of the office at the time.”
He explained, however, that the actual number of vehicles was higher. According to him, his team ultimately assessed a total of 70 vehicles—mostly buses, with a few trucks—rather than the 26 listed in the letter.
“Most of them are buses and a few trucks. So it is not 26, so the location (in the letter) did not include Kanilai.. My team also visited Kanilai to assess some of the vehicles. So it was a total of 70 assets, not 26.”
He stated that no action was taken by GTSC following the letter dated 7 December 2017. However, the company later received a reminder from the Commission in a letter dated 23 January 2018. Upon receiving the reminder, he requested a meeting with his team. “I had a meeting with my team; the essence of the meeting was to ensure that we comply, and we did comply and carried out the exercise.”
He stated that in a letter dated 16 November 2018, GTSC submitted to the Janneh Commission a report detailing the valuation of all seventy vehicles assessed by its technical team. The report, attached to the letter, included the market value assigned to each individual vehicle. “Market values were attached to each of the individual vehicles assessed.”
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