By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The shadow foreign minister of the UDP Mr. Lamin Manneh has asserted that the Barrow administration was given over US$12M to compensate those whose properties were affected by the works on OIC roads but the top UDP official said some property owners have yet to be compensated.
The Gambia government has since moved in on various parts of the Greater Banjul Area to bring down properties deemed to have encroached on the right of way as part of the OIC road construction project.
Though works minister Sillah said in a debate with Mr. Mannehlast week that compensation of property owners, the relocation of Nawec and Gamtel subterranean infrastructure, haulage of laterite, cost of fuel and basalt, among others, have shot the cost of the OIC road project up, UDP’s Manneh was unconvinced.
“Mr. Sillah is trying to spin a lot of things which are not true. This relocation he is talking about [Nawec and Gamtelunderground pipes]…the Saudi government gave this government US$22.5M for the Greater Banjul Area water project. They’re[government]supposed to sink a new borehole or water treatment plant in Sanyang. So, what he is talking about [relocation] has already been paid for from a different source, not the US$50m,” Manneh said as he debated Sillah.
It would be recalled that the Gambia OIC Secretariat under its former boss Mr. Lamin Sanneh has mobilized US$50M for the construction of the OIC roads.
Mr. Sanneh also negotiated another US$10M from the Saudi government for the electricity transmission and distribution project.
“That[project]has to do with all of the piping and the infrastructure project he’s[Sillah] talking about. They got money for that. So, the US$50M has nothing to do with all of this. The US$50M is for road works not for this compensation he’s talking about,” said Manneh. He continued: “The compensation is not just for these utility corporations. It’s also for the people, whose houses have been broken down, and for which I understand, US$12.something has been given for compensation to those landowners, whose houses have been broken down and whose fences have been broken down. Go to the Greater Banjul Area, and you will find a lot of people whose houses have been broken down and they’ve not been compensated. Why are their houses being broken down? Why are their properties being destroyed without compensation? When you expropriate, you pay ahead of expropriation. Don’t just break those houses and tell them we will pay you later on. How are those people going to survive? You see people putting tarpaulins in front of their houses. The fence has been broken down…storey-buildings have been broken down partly. You should compensate them before you do that as a normal standard procedure everywhere. You don’t go about destroying the properties of your citizens and tell them to fend for themselves until we can give you money.”
On Minister Sillah’s argument that prices of petrol, laterite, basalt, and consultancy fees have markedly increased since the signing of the contract for the OIC road project, Mr. Mannehsaid if a project of this nature [OIC roads] are discussed and planned, fiscal and price contingencies must be put in place.
“Price escalation does happen and if it does happen in this case, it’s the fault of this government not implementing the project on schedule. It’s the fault of this government for letting the Dalasi slip. So, Price contingencies and price escalation are their fault, to start with,” Manneh maintained. He added: “The fiscal contingencies happen. If they did not plan properly, the haulage of materials to the site where work is being done… that is upon them. They should have foreseen that and have done the necessary work. They didn’t do that. It’s upon them to prove to us that they have spent this money but what I am telling you as somebody who has been involved in this kind of work…those OIC roads, these secondary roads are nowhere near those roads which you will spend US$1M. Consultancy fees… We all know what it’s about. We all know how much it takes. That’s a minor cost in road construction work. If you pay consultants beyond recommended, you are overpricing. You are doing what is wrong. The consultants… There is a price range you should pay them. If you go beyond that, you should pay back that money. You are spending the money on the wrong things. So that is wrong.”
When challenged to show Gambians what the government has spent their money on as they[citizens] are going to pay the 50M dollars given by the Saudi government within 30 years with a five-year grace period with one percent interest and administrative charges, Sillah said that compensation of property owners and the relocation of Nawec and Gamtel infrastructures are costing millions.
“The projects are not finished. They are being implemented. This is a standard project implementation procedure. I cannot give you a haphazard figure. Anytime the roads are completed, they will be audited,” stated Mr. Sillah.
