Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – Farimang Manneh, the president of Eco-Tech Africa, has raised concerns about a misleading baseline figure provided by the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) in their contract for revenue collection. Manneh testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Monday, 9 December 2024, detailing his company’s contract with the KMC and highlighting discrepancies in the baseline figure that significantly affected the project’s execution.

Eco-Tech Africa was contracted to use machines for revenue collection, with an initial baseline of D1,600,000 set by KMC. However, Manneh stated that upon further assessment, the true baseline was closer to D800,000 to D900,000. Despite this, Eco-Tech managed to increase revenue by 50% over the course of the contract, which was intended to last five years.

Manneh admitted to signing the contract without verifying the baseline, stating that his intention was to support the municipality and enhance its revenue. “I came to the municipality to increase the revenue for the KMC because I live in KMC,” he said, explaining that he saw potential in the municipality’s future growth, including opportunities in markets and other sectors.

However, he revealed that about two years ago, KMC stopped using the machines, reverting to a paper ticketing system despite having a five-year contract in place. Manneh dismissed claims that the machines were faulty, asserting that the issue lay with the users who resisted transparency. Eco-Tech has since reached out to KMC to reinstate the project, but there has been no response.

Manneh also shared concerns about missing information in the contract documents, with a page reportedly missing due to a “printing error.” This discrepancy was noted by the inquiry’s chairperson, Jainaba Bah, who instructed Manneh to provide the complete contract.

Further complicating the situation, Manneh testified that monthly reconciliations outlined in the contract, which were supposed to take place between Eco-Tech and KMC, ceased after only one year. Despite this, Eco-Tech had made significant revenue, with up to D17,000,000 generated annually from the “Mbalit” project.

The case raises important questions about the transparency and execution of municipal contracts and the role of accurate data in ensuring successful partnerships between the public and private sectors.