The Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure has issued a statement refuting recent allegations of corruption in the management of funds for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) road project in The Gambia.

The Ministry responded to a social media story by the Open Gambia Platform, titled “A consultant with the Saudi fund for development (Sfd), the OIC road project has blown the whistle on President Barrow’s administration’s corruption!”, calling it “totally false, gravely malicious, and intentionally fabricated to misinform the public.”

According to the Ministry, all funds for the construction of the OIC 50km road project are directly managed by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, not the Gambian government. The Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure and its implementing agency, the National Roads Authority (NRA), are responsible for the implementation and supervision of the contract works, while the Ministry of Finance acts as a liaison between the Saudi Fund, contractors, and consultants.

Payments to contractors and consultants are made directly by the Saudi Fund into their designated bank accounts, and neither the Ministries of Works and Finance nor the NRA handle or manage these funds.

The Ministry clarified that the compensation of affected property owners on the right of way is also managed by the Gambian government, not the Saudi Fund.

Payments are made directly into the personal bank accounts of the affected property owners, with no money meant for compensation exchanging hands within government entities.

The Ministry expressed hope that its clarification would prompt the Open Gambia Platform to retract its story and distribute the rejoinder to all platforms where the erroneous information was published.