By: Kemo Kanyi
The Government of The Gambia could have purchased the OIC vehicles for D3 million each instead of D12 million, according to Talib Ahmad Bensouda, insinuating that the prices were highly inflated by the government.
In an interview with West Coast Radio, the KM mayor stated that government officials are living in luxury at the expense of poor Gambians, stating that most of them would not have been driving such expensive vehicles had they not been holding ministerial and other senior positions in government.
Bensouda explained that the vehicles that the government said were procured at D12 million and used by ministers are the same kind of vehicles purchased by a World Bank-sponsored project for just D3 million.
“They have gone and procured OIC SUVs and spent D12 million per vehicle for the personal use of a minister. For D7.1 million, you could get a Land Cruiser. So, where does the extra D5 million come from? Recently, there has been a World Bank project that procured those same vehicles for only D3 million each. I know this because there was an issue at the State House when the World Bank project bought those vehicles because the ministers don’t like it that there will be other government officials who would be driving the same standard of vehicles as theirs simply, because they want to be at a higher standard,” he stated, adding:
“They [government] ordered that all the 20 vehicles procured by the World Bank be taken to the State House immediately, and the drivers drove them to the State House. When they inspected the vehicles and reviewed the invoices, they said to themselves that they should not make noise about it because if people realise the difference in prices between the OIC vehicles and the World Bank project vehicles that are of the same standard, it might be bad, and they allowed them to go back with their vehicles. So, the vehicles they are using at D12 million could have been purchased at D3 million.”
Bensouda pointed out that his private vehicle was purchased at D2.4 million after rejecting a D5 million vehicle that was purchased for him. He stated that he has been using the same vehicle for seven years, explaining that he rejected the D5 million vehicle because his conscience could not allow him to drive such a luxurious car as a public official, serving poor and needy Gambians.
