GAM-PETROLEUM EXPLAINS ROLE IN STORAGE OF RUSSIAN OIL UNDER INVESTIGATION

 August 23, 2024  The standard newspaper

 

 By Tabora Bojang

Yesterday was the turn of the national fuel storage company Gam-Petroleum in the National Assembly inquiry into allegations of bribery and tax evasion by three companies, Apogee FZC, Creed Energy Limited and Ultimate Beige Logistics, suspected of importing and selling petroleum products in The Gambia worth $30m without paying taxes.

The product was in a Russian ship in the Atlantic Ocean before it was brough to The Gambia.Appearing before the enquiry, General Manager of Gam Petroleum Yero Jallow, began by the telling NAMs that his company had a deposit agreement with Apogee to store their products at the depot as they would for any trader with the right products

According to Jallow, the original arrangement was for them to supply product to somebody who needed it but that original sales deal collapsed while they are already here. “So they had to look for alternatives, which is normal in oil and gas business, and so they looked for a terminal to store the product and that is when they came to us and they came at a time when we also needed the product,” Mr Jallow said.

He added that following the storage of the petroleum, they received subsequent ‘release orders’ from Apogee, a Dubai-based company to release the petroleum to buyers.

According to Mr Jallow, Gam-Petroleum’s deposit agreement with Apogee came at a time when the country was facing a “fuel crisis” between March, April and May 2023.  But he said because of the circumstances, Apogee came to the country and his company had to take extra steps to “do certain things they don’t do with others.”

“We went to the extent of ensuring our team boarded the vessel before it came to the depot and obtained samples to verify whether the product is up to standard,” he said.

He said following their assessment, they realised the petroleum product was of “best quality” and it has made a good impact in the market.

Asked if Gam Petroleum management had conducted due diligence on the credibility of Apogee before establishing relations with them, GM Jallow said: “As a storage facility, we don’t go deep into investigating people’s identity beyond what they have provided. We only request certain documents which they have provided and we establish relations and sign the agreement”.

Jallow added that Gam Petroleum does not have the resources to investigate every trader they deal with. “That is why we don’t care too much because we are only holding their property and only control the product after the agreement,” he added.

“The trader is trading the goods. They don’t need to establish themselves in a country before they come in. So why would we need to look into the credibility? What concerns us is the product, and whether it is good or not,” he said

Asked to give names of persons who acted as facilitators for Apogee during the sale of the products, GM Jallow said the company has its own facilitators, Aurimas Steblys who acted as Apogee’s commercial director and one Nana who represented Ultimate Beige Logistics, a Ghanaian company registered in The Gambia.

GM Jallow’s testimony at this point was marred by tense arguments with several lawmakers repeatedly using parliamentary Standing Orders to bring the witness to track.

At one point, Mr Jallow accused NAMs of having a “preconceived mind” against Apogee which was why they were not getting his points.

That accusation was taken up by nominated member Kebba Lang Fofana, who stated that the committee is approaching the investigation with impartiality and an open mind. He asked Jallow to withdraw his statement, which he did.

Mr Jallow then continued to reveal that 75 percent of the shares of Gam-Petroleum belong to GPA, SSHFC, GNPC and Ministry of Finance while the remaining 25 percent is owned by Star Oil Group.

Asked how Star Oil Group managed to own such large shares since it newly came into the Gambian oil market, Mr Jallow said this was in place before his appointment.

The session was suspended with the witness expected to appear again

Pupil shoots mate at Wellingara primary school

 STANDARD NEWSPAPER  

JULY 9, 2024

 

 

The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Louis Moses Mendy, has confirmed a shooting incident at Wellingara Primary School.

“It is unfortunate that this happened, and the victim is in the hospital receiving medical treatment,” he said.

He added that investigations are ongoing to determine what actions need to be taken.

Mr. Mendy, who condemned the incident, called on parents to inculcate discipline in their children.

“Parents need to take care of their children and screen them properly before going to school,” he told The Fatu Network.

Meanwhile, the police last night issued a short statement that they are investigating the incident which was reported by the vice principal of the school.

“The police quickly responded to the scene, recovered the weapon, and secured it.

The public will be duly informed of any developments as the investigation into the incident continues,” the statement said.

VP UPDATES NAMS ON FRAUD CASES IN GOVT

 

 MARCH 13, 2024   standard newspaper

 By Tabora Bojang

Acting on a National Assembly resolution to furnish lawmakers with a comprehensive list of all fraud cases across government institutions, Vice President Muhammad BS Jallow has told NAMs that even though some cases are investigated and completed, some of the persons allegedly involved have absconded.

The National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee passed a resolution in September last year resolving among others that government ministries, departments and agencies provide lawmakers with a comprehensive list of all fraud cases including names, amount, dates and the current status of each case.

Appearing before the plenary yesterday, Vice President Jallow provided an update on the following institutions; Gambia Immigration Department, Directorate of National Treasury, Department of Forestry, Parks and Wildlife, Gambian missions in Bissau and France, Brikama Health Centre, Brikama sub-treasury and Kerewan sub-treasury.

Updating on a fraud case involving the Immigration Department officers at the seaport, the VP said an investigation by the police revealed that visa fee amounting to D1,302,000.00 was received by the cashier but only D700,000.00 was paid to the Government Account leaving a balance of D602,000.00 unaccounted for. He told NAMs that a follow up with the Ministry of Justice revealed that the perpetrators [Immigration officers] have been taken to court and the case is adjourned for judgement.

The vice president also disclosed that at the Directorate of National Treasury, some staff were involved in unauthorized withdrawal of public funds amounting to D4, 064,363.15. “This case was reported to the police for investigation, upon the completion of the investigation by the police, it was sent to the courts and the culprits were subsequently prosecuted,” he reported.

In the Brikama Health Center fraud case, VP Jallow disclosed that some revenue collectors including Yankuba Keita and others were collecting revenue and not banking it to the tune of D406,674.00.

“The said case was reported to the Police who are still working on the case. Whilst investigations are ongoing an amount of D319,000 has been recovered leaving a balance of D87,674.00.” 

For the Brikama sub-treasury, the vice president stated that the case involved un-accounted revenue amounting to D6,592,172.50 by Faisal Bojang. According to him “the matter is at the courts, however we were informed that the accused has absconded.”

At the Kerewan sub-treasury, the VP said: “A case of fraud committed by Baboucarr Bojang to the tune of D2,136,327.61 was reported to the police for investigation, however up to the time of writing this report the case is still under investigation at the level of the police.”

He also stated there was another fraud case of unaccounted revenue at Janjanbureh sub-treasury involving Fakebba Bojang amounting to D521, 000.00 reported to the police and still under investigation.

Mission in Guinea Bissau

According to the VP, there was also a fraud case at the Gambian mission in Bissau involving one Baba Gomez who was allegedly involved in an unauthorised withdrawal of D390, 000.32.  “This case is still under investigation at the level of the police, however the culprit is mentally imbalanced.”

Mission in Paris

The VP also disclosed there was a fraud case amounting to Euros 27,500 involving Faisal Bojang at the Gambia Embassy in Paris since 2014. “But upon completion of the investigation by the police, the case was forwarded to the court for prosecution. The case cannot proceed as the culprit has absconded.”

Forex exchange bureau staff stabbed to death by an alleged armed robber.

 January 20, 2024,  Foroyaa Newspaper

 By Nelson Manneh

 

A staff at a Forex Exchange Bureau at Westfield was on Friday 18th January 2024 stabbed “multiple times” to death by an alleged armed robber.
 
The incident happened shortly before Jummah prayers.
The victim, Fatou Kargbo, was rushed to Westfield clinic, but she was confirmed dead on arrival.
 
An eyewitness told this reporter that the alleged armed robber also attempted to kill himself by stabbing himself with the same knife and he fell down, but he was rushed hospital.

 
“He stabbed himself as well. But I heard he did not die, he is still alive,” the eyewitness told Foroyaa.
 
The spokesperson of the Gambia Police Force Cadet Assistant Superintendent, Binta Njie, confirmed the incident to Foroyaa, adding that as of Friday 18th January 2024, the alleged armed robber was responding to treatment.
 
Lamin Dampha, a commercial taxi driver, who is an eyewitness, said that he saw the alleged armed robber around the Bureau, but he never knew that he was there to rob the victim.
 
“When I heard the victim shouting, I ran towards the Bureau but before I reached there he had already stabbed the woman and himself too. I was among the first people to reach the scene because I was not far from there; he (the alleged robber) knew that he would not escape because people were coming. He used the knife he was holding and stabbed himself and fell down,” he said.
 
Mr Dampha said looking at the alleged robber, he concluded that he was dead because the way he stabbed himself was serious.  
 
Foroyaa will continue to follow up the incident with the Police and will update its readers.

SG leading investigations at Gambian embassy in Cuba

 

 STANDARD NEWSPAPER  FEBRUARY 27, 2024

By Lamin Cham

The secretary general at the Office of the President, Salimatou Touray, is heading a high level investigation team in Cuba, looking into reports of economic malfeasance and an alleged fracas between Ambassador Sheikh Tijan Hydara and his deputy, Vincent Mendy.

The two were reported to have been involved in heated altercations which ended in a physical tussle in the ambassador’s office in Havana on January 25. Both have been recalled but are yet to return to Banjul.

The news was broken by online portal What’s On Gambia and has since been picked up by many press and broadcast outlets in the country.

A source confirmed to The Standard that at the heart of the matter and high on the investigation team’s area of interest is the alleged financial maladministration following a tip-off from the embassy’s bank in Cuba raising concern about certain movement of money from the embassy’s account to personal accounts.In the current arrangement at Gambian missions, ambassadors are not signatories to accounts but deputy ambassadors, financial attachés and first secretaries are, in this case Vincent Mendy, Jabou Colley and Lamin Jammeh respectively.  It is not known which of these officials are involved and how.

The team of senior government officials in Havana investigating the matter include the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lang Yabou, Alhagie Jallow from the Accountant General’s Office, and auditors Bernard Mendy and Haddy Sanneh.

Contacted for comment on the matter from Cuba yesterday, PS Yabou told The Standard: “We are trying to put the pieces together regarding the issue to be able to understand what exactly happened.” He declined to elucidate.

Here is Deputy Ambassador Vincent Mendy’s marathon letter on Ambassador Hydra’s unethical activities in Cuba

 WhatOnGambia

 February 28, 2024

News

Dear Permanent Secretary,

Report on the Fracas that happened at The Gambia Embassy in Havana, Cuba, between Myself (DHM) and Ambassador Sheikh Tijan Hydara On 24th January 2024

I hope this letter/report finds you well. It is with deep pain and regret that I write this report to provide my version on the above-captioned incident. In doing so I am compelled to mention things that I held in confidence for a long time and never intended to make public knowledge for the rest of my life. Sometimes one is compelled by circumstances to put on record things that may be unsavory and could have negative consequences when they come to the public domain. 

Below is a chronological brief on the evolution and combination of circumstances that culminated in my physical confrontation with the Ambassador on Wednesday, 24th of January 2024.

I have been very patient in the office for a long time despite all the humiliation that I have suffered at the hands of the Ambassador since he arrived in Cuba in January 2023. 

Firstly, immediately after he presented his letters of credence and reported to the office, he verbally requested me to dismiss all the staff that were old and bring in younger girls. I responded that it is too early for us to start dismissing staff because we are both new in the office and it is not decorum to dismiss people just because they are advanced in age. Since his intention to dismiss the staff he identified as old failed, he proceeded to make the embassy hell for everyone, especially those he wanted to dismiss. Despite their age and the respect they give him, he will insult them at every available opportunity, causing them unnecessary stress and problems. 

When a person is constantly devalued in a team because of their religious beliefs and humiliated because of their faith, this will often trigger defensive instincts on the part of the victim, with negative consequences for the perpetrator. This also makes it very difficult to work in harmony as a team and applies to me because I am a Christian. The Ambassador treats me like a thrash because of my religion. He does not treat me like a normal human being. To mention a few of the instances, during the last Ramadan, when the Embassy of Saudi Arabia sent dates to the embassy, he called us to his office, distributed the dates among all the staff, and left me out. One member of staff had to call his attention to the fact that I am also a member of staff and part of the team and deserve to be given some of the present. I just sat down meekly, looking at him.

In another incident, after the demise of our Bilingual Secretary, I suffered another humiliation during the interview for a replacement candidate for the position. He said very nasty things to me in the presence of the interviewee because of my religion and I sat quietly while he continued to ridicule my religion. At some point, I had to call his attention to stop talking about religion so we could proceed with the interview, but he refused and said that what he and the interviewee, a new convert from Christianity to Islam, are talking about is very important. I wonder when has it become a crime for a Gambian Christian to work with his Gambian Muslim brothers in the same office? Can't a Christian work in the same office with his Muslim brothers without his religion being regularly insulted? Or has it become a crime to be a Christian? 

Things got worse at Tobaski when he instructed the Accountant to buy Rams for his family in The Gambia from Embassy funds for the celebration of the feast. When I refused the instruction, the humiliation and embarrassment dished out to me increased dramatically.

Esteemed Permanent Secretary, it is hard to imagine, but I am of the impression that the Ambassador is always intoxicated when he comes to office. He reeks of alcohol every day and this must be the cause of his erratic behavior in the office. He regularly reports to work late at 2 or 3 pm every day only to rain terror and insults on everyone, especially the local staff, and soon after goes back home. 

It is no more a secret to everyone he crosses paths with in Havana, including members of the Diplomatic Corps, that he is a drunkard and always intoxicated.

Esteemed Permanent Secretary, you have worked in the foreign mission for a long time and know how things work. Unfortunately for us, since he assumed office, it is only the Ambassador that attends functions, activities, or meetings when the Embassy is invited. He does not delegate any staff at the Embassy and equally does not give reports or updates to us on any development or relations he is working on for the embassy or the country. Any function or meeting he cannot attend will remain unattended as he will not send a representative from the embassy. He made it categorically clear to us that he is a member of the opposition and it is his personal political agenda that he is selling, therefore he will not send the staff to meetings to sell the agenda of the country which is different from his. Whenever I raise issues, he always responds that he is the Ambassador and whatever he says is what will happen. Despite all these transgressions, I have never raised my voice against him.

During the G77+ China Meeting, he assigned us (Myself, and the two First Secretaries) to draft a statement for the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, which we did. When we presented the draft to him, he shouted at us and called the draft rubbish in the presence of the local staff. As if the shouting in the office was not enough, he called me on the telephone again, on a Saturday, and told me what we wrote was rubbish and useless because I didn't know anything and I couldn't do my job. When I tried to respond, he threatened that he was recording me. He did all this just to come back the following Monday to say the speech was good and it was the same speech that was handed to the Honorable Minister.

During the afore-mentioned summit, we had delegates from The Gambia, and we all agreed that we should provide them accommodation at our various residences. That apart, he requested that we use Embassy funds to provide their feeding which I told him categorically was not possible because we do not have a budget line for that. That also generated a very big problem. I then reminded him that we (myself and him) had reviewed the budget together and the money in the relevant budget line he wanted charged was already exhausted by him. Finally, we agreed that we would provide their feeding out of our pockets. To my surprise after the summit, he wrote a request saying that he should be refunded for the food and everything that was eaten by the Permanent Secretary 1 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Deputy Head of Mission in New York, USA, who stayed in his residence during the summit. He made it a big issue until he was asked to write what the payment was for and authorize the payment. It was only after that that he was refunded USD 1000.

It is also noteworthy that despite being the Deputy Head of Mission he deliberately omitted my name from the program that he prepared for the Gambian Delegates, a copy of which was availed to you. Although my name was not included, I still participated fully in the program to ensure there were no hitches. To him, I am just in the Embassy but I am nothing and I should not be treated like a human by any staff.

Also, a few months after he arrived in Cuba, he impregnated the cook in his residence by the name of Fatou Jallow, one of the staff that he brought along to Cuba and according to him, she is a niece to one of his wives. He took the girl to a local clinic with the help of a local staff in the residence and aborted the pregnancy. The girl developed some post-abortion infection and was taken to a clinic for treatment. 

While I was on a short vacation in April 2023, he forced the Financial Attaché and First Secretary Mr. Lamin Jammeh to pay 80% of the bill from the Embassy funds, which she is not entitled to. Upon returning, I wrote to the Permanent Secretary's office for clarification because he used a phrase in the Foreign Service Regulations to force them to pay. 

Unfortunately, I never received a response from the Ministry. On the day of the demise of our Bilingual Secretary, we all went to her house to extend our condolences. When we returned to the office, he convened an emergency meeting. During the meeting, he said I signed an agreement with the deceased so she could protect me and I will also protect her but now she is dead. He said when he came the lady was so helpful to him but I talked to her and she hated him at the end and was sabotaging him. He said anyone who fights him will see the result. Today the lady is dead because she hated him. Despite all this, I never uttered a word. I just sat quietly to avoid problems with him.

 It has now come to a point that he doesn't want to see any staff near me. Anyone who comes near me will be dismissed, as he has demonstrated. All he fears is that they will tell me what is happening in the residence.

On Monday, 22nd of January 2024, I came to the office but was not feeling well and therefore went to the hospital and later went home. He reached the office at 3 pm and did not find me. He then asked the staff to move the IT server downstairs so that we could have room for the new staff Pa Touray Bajinka. He asked Daisy, a local staff, to go and look for a table and chair for Mr. Bajinka the next morning. 

On Tuesday morning when I arrived in the office, I was informed of the situation. I proceeded with First Secretary Lamin Jammeh to inspect the IT room to look at the possibilities of moving the server downstairs and we all agreed that it would be too expensive and that if the internet server is moved downstairs, upstairs will not have internet access. Moreover, the IFMIS cable will also require the Department of Treasury Staff to come to Cuba to move it. 

I told him I would talk to the Ambassador about this when he comes. So, we suspended the buying of a table until we finalize the issue. There are also tables and chairs in the office which Mr. Bajinka can occupy and we did not need to buy any. She therefore did not need to go and look for a table and chair. We just needed to do some little readjustments upstairs and everyone will be accommodated. When he came at 3 pm he immediately called Daisy and started shouting at her. I went to his office and told him that I had asked her not to go because we needed to look at the issue of moving the server again. I then explained to him that if we move the server, we will pay a lot of money and we will also need to request for Treasury to send us IFMIS experts to move the IFMIS cables downstairs. And if you move the server down, upstairs will not have internet and we will have to buy new routers which may not even have good signals. I said the process alone will take almost six months to execute because we will have to do rewiring also. I said we could just do some little adjustments and everybody would be accommodated without us buying any table and chair. This adjustment was done and Mr. Bajinka got his office with a chair and a table. 

While I was still in his office, he said we did not respect him because even President Barrow does not go to people's offices to greet them. It is the people that go to greet him. Now we have to be going to greet him anytime he comes because he is the Ambassador.

To my surprise, the Ambassador was still very angry that Daisy did not go to look for the table and chair because I said it was not necessary. 

On Wednesday, myself, Mr Bajinka, and Daisy went to look at a house that was identified for Mr. Bajinka by Daisy after I assigned her to look for a house for him. On our way back Daisy received a call and was told that there was a letter for her from the Ambassador. She immediately started crying. We tried to console her and asked that she wait until she saw the content of the letter. 

When we reached the office, she collected the letter and it was a dismissal letter. I then took the letter from her and went to the Ambassador's office and begged him to cancel the dismissal because I was the one who told her there was no need I sent her to the hospital and also assigned her to look for a house for Mr Bajinka. He said housing is not important and the most important thing was to get him a place to sit in the office. He refused and said that he had already made his decision and that it was final, but luckily other staff also came and begged him and he later agreed.

 On Thursday, I went with Daisy to help Mr. Bajinka get the rest of the things he needed to settle down and headed back to the office leaving Mr. Bajinka at his new apartment. When the ambassador arrived at 3pm he came to my office with Lamin Jammeh and asked us to go to his office. When we reached his office, he asked me to go give Daisy her dismissal letter again because he had made his decision and it was final. He also said that he was going to dismiss Henrique, the utility car driver. I then asked him the reason and he said "I will not tell you, if you are doing anything in this office you have to get permission from me but if I am doing something, I will never tell you". I said okay then do it and we shall see because yesterday you dismissed Daisy because of me and today you are dismissing Henrique because of me. I left his office and went back to my office to avoid confrontation with him. I then decided to call Henrique and ask him to come to my office but he was on the way coming back with Mr.Bajinka from his new apartment. I waited for some time but did not see Henrique and I went down the road to look for him to collect the car key from him but when I called him again, he said he was at the Ambassador's office and the Ambassador had collected the key. So, I went to the Ambassador's office to take the key. When I entered, I found Mr. Bajinka, Mr. Lamin Jammeh, and Mr. Modou Nying all sitting in his office, and as they saw me enter and walk towards the Ambassador to ask for the key,  they all got up and held me back to the door. He (Ambassador) got up from his chair and ran towards me determined to confront me physically. I was already held by these three people. At that moment I did not know what to do because I realized that he was drunk and if |I did not defend myself, I would get hurt. He then threw the first blow but I managed to dodge it and free myself from the grip of the three people who held me, and then I fought back. They were able to separate us and took me out. At exactly four o'clock, I went back to his office to tell him to give me the key but these three people did not let me speak. Then I remembered that I had a spare key to the car which I subsequently used to go home with the car.

As the DHM most of the complaints about him following people's wives, especially the wives of top government officials both at the bank and hospital have been reported to me. Whenever I received such complaints I had no option but to stand by him because he is my Ambassador.

I  am sure you will agree with me that it is very difficult and nearly impossible to live or work with a person who exhibits the character traits, behaviors, and habits of a chronic drunkard, a womanizer, and a man who follows people's wives, a man that does not respect people and a man that does not respect other religions. These are the exact habits and behaviors of my ambassador.

In conclusion, I pray that you assign an investigation panel to look into the things I have mentioned in this report objectively. Whilst thanking you for your usual consideration, I remain, 

Yours Sincerely

 Vincent Mendy

Deputy Head of Mission Gambia Embassy Havana, Cuba

Cc: Secretary General &Head of Civil Service Office of The President Chief of Staff Office of The President

Police give update on killings, gun attack

 By Tabora Bojang

STandard newspaper      EBRUARY 20, 2024

Police have said the suspect arrested in connection with a homicide case involving a British woman who was found killed in a building on Friday in Sinjang village, near Kunkujang Mariama in Kombo North, has confessed to carrying out the act.

Shaikna Chinedu went missing a few days before her body was discovered in an incomplete building under mysterious circumstances.

The police arrested a male suspect aged between 20 and 30 years old on Saturday.

Police spokesperson ASP Binta Njie told The Standard the suspect confessed that he murdered Shaikna and had also stolen properties from her residence.

“He [suspect] also admitted to have taken the victim’s mobile phone and sold it. His initial confession that he jointly committed the murder is not true; he confessed to committing the act alone,” Njie added.

Killer drummer on the run

The killing of the British woman was among the multiple cases of homicide cases recorded in the past few days.

One of these cases occurred in New Jeshwang where a man believed to be a Senegalese citizen and a drummer by profession murdered his friend and went on the run.

Police spokesperson ASP Njie confirmed the incident and added that the police are doing their utmost to apprehend the runaway suspect.

Mango tree suicide

Another homicide case occurred in the Central River Region after the body of a young man identified as Mama Salieu Suwareh was found hanging from a tree.

Police said investigation revealed that the deceased had a mental health issue and documents were shown to the police by the father to confirm that he was mentally ill.

“He [Suwareh] left his house as usual only to be seen later hanging from a mango tree behind the compound,” the police said.

Gunman, driver nabbed

Meanwhile, the police have also arrested two suspects in connection with a shooting incident after an unidentified gunman opened fire inside the residence of Mauritanian businessman Ali Sidi at Fajara.

The gunman who fired a shot in the air and reportedly physically assaulted the businessman fled in a getaway BMW car.

The police said two men – the driver and the alleged shooter – have both been arrested and are helping them in their investigation.