{"id":82627,"date":"2025-07-23T19:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T19:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/kerewan-council-chairman-admits-procurement-failures"},"modified":"2025-07-23T20:34:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:34:29","slug":"kerewan-council-chairman-admits-procurement-failures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/kerewan-council-chairman-admits-procurement-failures","title":{"rendered":"Kerewan Council Chairman Admits Procurement Failures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Malamin I.L. Bojang, who served as Chairman of the Kerewan Area Council from 2018 to 2023, has admitted before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that he failed to address procurement irregularities during his tenure.<\/b><\/p>\n

Bojang\u2019s admission came during questioning by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez, who cited the 2022 compliance report from the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA). The report revealed that the council executed 662 procurement transactions valued at D9,770,545.26\u2014of which 650 were conducted through single sourcing, with only 12 processed via request for quotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo this is not a competitive process,\u201d Counsel Gomez noted. \u201cBecause even for this request for quotation, they will just go and get three quotations. Sometimes they just be the ones to bring these fictitious sources, and the intention will be defeated,\u201d Counsel Gomez told Bojang.<\/p>\n

He emphasized that procurement should involve independent assessments and competitive bidding to ensure transparency and value for money. \u201cThis should be a cause of alarm,\u201d Gomez told the former chairman.<\/p>\n

In his initial response, Bojang said he relied on the council\u2019s procurement officer, whom he described as \u201cvery strict,\u201d to handle procurement-related issues. However, Gomez pointed out that the CEO and Finance Director\u2014both senior to the procurement officer\u2014were the actual decision-makers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if they are strict, and they are not being empowered, their strictness will go to no issue,\u201d Gomez argued.<\/p>\n

Bojang conceded, agreeing with the counsel\u2019s assessment and acknowledging that there was no transparency, no market surveys, and no opportunity for competition in the council\u2019s procurement practices. When asked directly if these issues were ever addressed during his tenure, Bojang replied that they were not, admitting they should have been.<\/p>\n

In his testimony, Bojang also lamented what he described as the limited powers of area council chairpersons. \u201cThe act is biased in giving responsibility to the Chairman,\u201d he said. Adding that the Act focuses on the roles of the Minister, CEO, and general council, while the chairman is only mentioned once.<\/p>\n

Counsel Gomez stated that he had no doubts about the witness\u2019s integrity but urged him to inform the commission if he believed there were limitations to the powers of a council chairman. He encouraged him to present his argument clearly to the commissioners.<\/p>\n

\u201cChairman cannot pass any penalty during the council meetings since the chairman presides over the meeting. So when somebody misbehaves, does the chairman have the right to send the person out?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Gomez clarified that while chairmen cannot impose penalties, they do have significant powers, including the authority to introduce standing orders. Citing Section 33 of the Local Government Act, Gomez emphasized that the law provides chairpersons with tools to govern effectively\u2014if properly understood and applied.<\/p>\n

\u201cRules of procedure section 33 of the local government act. This is not just your problem; most of us don\u2019t have the culture of reading, so we assume positions we don\u2019t read,\u201d Counsel Gomez said.<\/p>\n

The section was read aloud to Bojang, who thanked the counsel for the clarification.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Malamin I.L. Bojang, who served as Chairman of the Kerewan Area Council from 2018 to 2023, has admitted before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that he failed to address procurement irregularities during his tenure. Bojang\u2019s admission came during questioning by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez, who cited the 2022 compliance report from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-82627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nKerewan Council Chairman Admits Procurement Failures - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Malamin I.L. 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