Gambiaj.com – (Banjul, The Gambia) – Mamadi Kurang, the former secretary of the Janneh Commission, has defended the commission’s handling of state asset sales during a hearing before a National Assembly committee. He admitted that while the process aimed for transparency, there were no formal checks to verify the legitimacy of buyers who acquired confiscated assets through public auctions.
Kurang explained that the Commission relied largely on informal knowledge and familiarity with local companies rather than documented proof of identity or background checks.
“If someone was bidding large amounts, we expected them to give their real names. But we did not formally verify whether these companies were legitimate,” Kurang said. “The Gambia is a small country, and we mostly knew the companies involved.”
Kurang, who oversaw the sale of assets seized from former President Yahya Jammeh and his associates, acknowledged that cash payments were often accepted for practical reasons.
“We took cash payments because other payment methods might not be reliable,” he said, noting that cheques were only accepted from known companies. He personally signed off on every payment received.
The committee questioned whether this lack of due diligence could have compromised the Commission’s integrity and opened the door for unqualified or hidden interests to obtain state assets. Kurang defended the process, saying the Commission followed internal guidelines, and emphasized that auctioneer services were rendered satisfactorily.
He confirmed that the auctioneer, identified as Mr. Ablie (also known as Jammeh and now deceased), was contracted at D500 per item auctioned. While no auction license was requested from him, Kurang said the Commission was satisfied with his work.
Addressing concerns about internal conflicts of interest, Kurang said that while commissioners or staff were not legally barred from participating in auctions, he personally discouraged such involvement.
“If a commissioner wanted to buy and became the highest bidder without using inside knowledge, legally they could. But I would not recommend it for the secretary or staff,” he stated.
Kurang also admitted to authorizing two sales below the set reserve price: one tractor with a D30,000 reserve sold for D25,000, and another item valued at D20,000 went for D10,000. He justified the decisions as economic, aimed at clearing unsold stock. “I took responsibility based on what was reasonable at the time,” he said.
Despite these instances, Kurang said the Commission made significant gains overall—citing over five million dalasis earned above reserve prices. A notable example included a tractor sold to Jah Oil Company for over a million dalasis, far surpassing the original reserve of D75,000.
Kurang argued the market justified the price even though the valuer had maintained a lower estimate.
He also clarified that while the auction process itself adhered to the Commission’s transparency guidelines, final ownership titles were issued by the police after the auction.
The committee, however, remained concerned that the absence of formal buyer verification and potential conflicts of interest could have undermined the Commission’s mandate to manage recovered assets fairly and transparently.
