 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Momodou
Denmark
11738 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Apr 2007 : 02:11:24
|
EX-GCAA DIRECTRESS GENERAL SHARED ALLOWANCE WITH HER ASSISTANT
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Maimuna Taal, former directress general of the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) used to share with her assistant her allowance of $500 dollars from the airport improvement project, a witness told the High Court on Tuesday, April 3.
Prosecution witness, Herbert Jaw who is GCAA Finance Manager said this while under cross-examination at the economic crimes trial of Mrs. Taal.
Mr. Jaw responded to the defence counsel, Antouman Gaye that Taal requested for only US$350 and directed that the remaining sum be given to her assistant. He said that both members of the project team were recipients of the allowance, including himself. He added that their predecessors in the project were also receiving the allowance, which is coming from the 85% provided for by the Kuwaiti Fund. The project according to him was initially $21 million U.S Dollars but increased to $46 million U.S dollars during Malick Cham’s tenure as Director General.
Mr. Jaw said that he is honestly and legally receiving the allowance, since the funding agency is still funding the project and no one at the Department of state for Finance and Economic Affairs has ever questioned their management team on the allowance. He also said that he is not aware that GCAA’s Board Members ever complained about it.
He recognised his signature on a payment voucher and admitted making payments, indicating that it was part of his terms of reference.
In an earlier examination by the prosecutor, Marie Saine-Firdaus, Mr. Jaw said that he is also doubling as financial comptroller of the airport improvement project.
He said the project comprises procurement of equipment, construction of airport access roads and the runway, refurbishment and rehabilitation of the terminal building, procurement of stand-by generator, among others.
He told the court that the said project was in two phases; the fast track and the normal scope. The fast track phase which he said commenced in 2002 is technically incomplete, as the consultant still wants the contractors to do something.
Jaw said that he cannot remember when the normal scope phase started as they were experiencing funding shortfalls. According to him it is being collectively funded by the Kuwaiti Fund and BADEA at 85% and the GCAA under The Gambia government at 15%. The contract coordinators are receiving US $500 dollars each, he said, while the project financial comptroller and the project coordinator earn US$350 as allowances. They also have project vehicles, he added, with the coordinator getting 1000 dalasis for telephone allowance and the rest of the team gets 750 dalasis.
Continuing his testimony he said that the payments were stopped when they were at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in January 2006, but resumed the following month. He could not tell the court when the accused person stopped receiving her allowance, unless he consulted his files. He identified a payment voucher of the accused person’s last allowance which is dated September 2005 in which she received 9,700 dalasis equivalent to $300 U.S dollars. He also recognised a July 2006 payment voucher of the accused person in which she received 15, 000 dalasis equivalent to $500 U.S dollars.
Jaw identified other vouchers paid to her in October, November and December 2003, and January 2004 in the sum of D37,020 equivalent to $1200 U.S dollars.
The prosecution witness told the court that apart from being the project financial comptroller he plays no other role.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 40/2007, 9 - 10 April, 2007
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
|
toubab1020
12312 Posts |
Posted - 11 Apr 2007 : 14:53:52
|
Although no decision as to the guilt or otherwise of the accused has been reached by the court in this case a developing country that relies on grants and help from other countries cannot be seen to be untrustworthy with the money and accordingly economic crimes should be taken very seriously and if found guilty the big bosses should be punished accordingly. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
|
 |
|
|
Momodou
Denmark
11738 Posts |
Posted - 11 Apr 2007 : 22:17:31
|
MORE TESTIMONIES IN THE TRIAL OF MAIMUNA TAAL
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Two more prosecution witnesses namely, Abdoulie Jammeh and Howsoon Semega Janneh were last Wednesday, April 4th, the latest to testify in the economic crimes trial of Maimuna Taal, Former Directress General of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Messrs. Jammeh and Janneh are Director Generals of GCAA and Acting Director General of The Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) respectively. Testifying before Justice S.M Monageng at the High Court, 38 year old Mr. Jammeh said that he has worked for the GCAA for 10 years at different capacities.
He told the court that he has worked with the accused person and in August 2005 he was acting on her behalf as Director General while she was on an official mission outside The Gambia.
Jammeh said that he remembered signing contracts for the rehabilitation of senior staff quarters, adding that he signed them based on the approval of the contract committee. The contract he said was approved by the Director General, Taal, which he read on the contract minutes.
“Usually,” Jammeh said, he does not sign contracts when the Director General is present, and he did so this time due to her absence. He attested that he worked under the Director General’s Office which was part of the contract committee, but played no role apart from signing it in the absence of his boss.
Currently, he said, he is a member of the airport improvement project since April 2006, “But always” acted as project manager at different times in the past.
Under cross-examination with Antouman Gaye, counsel for the defence, the GCAA Deputy Director General agreed that he was receiving allowances when he acted as project manager. All other members of the contract committee according to Mr. Jammeh received allowances including the accused person. Pursued by the defence if anything unusual happened, he responded, “It was perfectly in order.”
Also appearing in the same hearing, Mr. Semega Janneh said he is currently serving as Director General of GPPA which is mandated to monitor the procurement activities of Departments of States, Public Enterprises and Local Government Authorities. The Civil Aviation body GCAA he said, is a public enterprise and falls under their mandate.
The procuring organisation Janneh said has to meet the requirement of the act, which stipulated different methods of procurement tenders.
When procuring more than one million dalasis according to him, the GPPA needs to approve every stage of the procurement. Janneh told the court that there is nothing in records at the GPPA regarding the procurement of contracts on the Director General’s official residence, the flight safety manager’s/residence, the engineering manager’s residence and the VIP lounge at the airport. He said that there is no record of procurement of a contract for the air traffic control manager’s residence.
The GPPA, he said by statue is to ensure compliance with procurement laws; the GPPA Act and Regulations. It also ensures detecting of fraud and other malpractices and generates transparency and accountability in public procurement. He added that there is no assessment to see whether the civil aviation contract’s value for money.
In a brief cross-examination by the defence, Mr. Janneh said that there is no penalty in the act in case it was not obliged to. He told the court that the GPPA made a query to the GCAA which was before the accused person’s tenure. There might be other queries he said, as different officers could write to the GCAA.
Mrs. Taal will be back in court on Thursday.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 41/2007, 11 - 12 April, 2007 |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
|
|
Momodou
Denmark
11738 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2007 : 17:59:57
|
MAIMUNA TAAL ACQUITTED
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Tears rolling down her cheeks, Maimuna Taal, in a grey robe, left the court room dumbfounded as Justice Sanji Monageng finished reading the verdict on the submission of “no case to answer” which she and a number of sympathizers were delighted to hear on Wednesday, May 9.
The Former Directress General of the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has been appearing in court on seven economic crime charges.
Justice Monageng ruled that the prosecution has failed to produce reliable evidence in its case and therefore acquitted and discharged the accused, Madam Taal.
The High Court Judge said that the evidence of the prosecution is so much unreliable and if even a crime was done it is wrong to say that it is Taal who caused it.
Justice Monageng said that the prosecution witnesses testified that Taal was entitled to allowances coming from the airport improvement project which her predecessors were receiving. The judge added that their evidence has shown that Taal did not acquire the allowances illegally or dishonestly as count one claimed.
On count two, Justice Monageng ruled that she has found no evidence to prove that the accused person dishonestly acquired anything and said that there is no case to answer. The judge went on to say that in count three, Taal did not cause any financial loss to the government of the Gambia.
On count four, Justice Monageng said that all the refurbishment at the Director General’s residence was done after fulfilling all requirements were met.
She stressed that “detriment to the economy of the Gambia” as the charges claimed “should not be an assumption but an issue of fact.”
On the last count, the High Court Judge held that there was no abuse of authority carried out by the accused person, as the evidence of the prosecution manifested.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 54/2007, 11 - 13 May, 2007 |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
© 2005-2024 Nijii |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
