Abdoulie Tambadou's record at GPA in figures

Just as we have done in the case of Muhammed Manjang, Managing Director of the Social Security Housing and Finance Corporation (SSHFC), encapsulating his one and half short tenure at the helm, we will try to do likewise for Abdoulie Tambadou, the Managing Director of Gambia Ports Authority until this morning when he was redeployed to the Gambia Public Procurement Agency.  His new position at GPPA or the name of his replacement at GPA were both unknown at the time of going to press.

Mr. Abdoulie Tambedou held the post of Managing Director of the Gambia Ports Authority from 7th March 2017 to 29th August 2018.  Prior to his stint, he served the GPA from Accounts Clerk in 1989 and rose through the ranks  to the position of Managing Director from April 2011 to August 2012.

In the intervening period, Mr. Tambedou served as Finance Analyst in the UNDP Gambia Country Office from March 2016 to March 2017 and Deputy Controller of Senegambia Beach Hotel from November to March 2016.  He also served as Financial Management Specialist as part of the Canada Pacific Consultancy Services Limited team in a World Bank Port Sector Reform Project at the Liberia Port Authority, Monrovia.

Mr. Tambadou graduated as a Member of the Chartered Accountants (ACCA) in 1994 and an Masters in Business Administration in Strategic Management and Finance from the University of Wales, Cardiff Business School in 1997. He graduated also from the Institute of Chartered Bankers of Nigeria in 2016 where he awarded the highest mark as the Best Student in Banking Law. Regulation and Corporate Governance.  Mr. Tambadou has also undergone various courses in Procurement, Strategy and Risk Management among others.  He is currently serving on the Boards of the GPA, Gamtel/GAmcel and the Gam Petroleum Storage Company Limited.

Like Muhammed Manjang who have since been sent on a one-month leave for returning the SSHFC into profitability, Abdoulie Tambadou record at GPA was even more phenomenal.  In 2015, GPA's registered a loss after tax of negative D805,000 from a pretax profit of D before tax was D38 million. In 2016, the profit before tax was  D53 million for an operating profit after tax of D13 million.   In 2017, profit before tax was D271 million and a profit after tax was D198 million.

Net cash flows in 2015 was D327 million, in 2016 the figure was D353 million and in 2017 the figure increased to D455 million. 

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Pensioners and contributing employers are victims of a mismanaged SSHFC and not the staff

Mohammed Manjang, Managing Director SSHFC

For the past several months, while the government allowed what was a purely  personnel matter has been allowed to morph into an industrial dispute, threatening the financial integrity of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) and, by extension, the welfare of pensioners and employers who contributors to the Provident and Consolidated Pensions Funds.

Pensioners who have worked for 30 - 40 years with employers contributing towards their retirement have been experiencing hardships not of their own making.  Proceeds from employers' contribution were misapplied, misused and abused by the previous regime with the active participation of some past and current members of staff. 

Some of these very same staff currently engaged in illegal acts of public disorder by blocking access to a public building are now feigning victimhood.  What about those pensioners who cannot access their monthly benefits because the kitty is empty.  They have to wait for months so that their funds committed to short-term instruments yield dividends for the corporation to meet their monthly obligations to pensioners. 

Pensioners are the real victims and not a bunch of privileged staff oozing with the aura of self entitlement.  These disgruntled staff would like to continue enjoying more housing loans and other facilities and perks on the backs of hard working Gambians that have proven to be bad investments that threatens the solvency for the corporation.

The Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation was built with the sweat and tears of pensioners, prospective pensioners and particularly private sector employers, with little or zero financial stake from central government.  It is time that these unheralded and forgotten Gambians take a more active role in the management of the SSHFC by organizing themselves to protect what belongs to them. 

These category of Gambians are beginning to organize themselves to protect their interests and their pension benefits - both actual and anticipated - since the government appears to be interested in the welfare of a handful of disgruntled staff members with obvious support from State House and the Ministry of Finance. 

The Managing Director of SSHFC, management, staff and Board deserve the full support of the Barrow government

Staff of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) were denied access to the office premises by padlocking the gates to the building - an illegal act for which disciplinary action must be taken. 

The group of disgruntled staff led by one Mr. Camara has been agitating for months now to have the new Managing Director removed from office because of reasons that could only be characterized as flimsy when compared to the myriad of problems facing the near-insolvent state owned enterprise. 

Gambians are treated, nearly daily, to the financial malpractices - including abuse of pensioner's funds - by the former dictator, his business partners and senior officials that threatened the financial integrity of the corporation.  It is such abuses that the new Managing Director, the new Board Chairman and his colleagues on the Board are set to arrest so that the finances of the corporation can be restored to good health and profitability.

Managing Director Manjang has been on the job for approximately two year and some of his achievement, however modest, can be found here; a subject we covered in our penultimate blog post.  He was able to turn a D1.6 million loss in 2016 into a D82 million profit which was achieved despite very strong income headwinds.  [The D83.5 million was a misstatement on our part.] When last year's operating profit figure is compared to profits in 2013 [D26M], 2014 [D13M] and 2015 [D15M], one begins to appreciate even more the efforts that Board, Management and staff of the SSHFC have put in.

We will reiterate here what we've stated on our Facebook page and that is these favorable numbers are a far cry from what obtained before the new Managing Director came onboard.  It is these favorable figures that the noise-makers and those urging them on are trying to obscure - to divert our attention away from the new management team at the SSHFC. 

Needless to say that there is still a lot of work to be done and new milestones to reach.  It is evident from the cost management measures implemented in 2017 have yielded dividends because total costs were down by D88 million in 2017 - a figure that is expected to improve further and significantly at the end of 2018.

The Government of Adama Barrow must not let a few disgruntled staffers who are obviously trying to maintain the old system that benefits them at the expense of the over 130,000 (one hundred and thirty thousand) individual accounts operated and managed by SSHFC comprising of pensioners and active employees who currently contribute to the National Provident Fund and the Federated Pensions Funds.  The government must lend full and unequivocal support to the Managing Director, management, Board and staff who are committed to ushering in a new era and a new management culture at the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation.

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First Lady's Foundation may, or may not, share the results of the Board's investigation of the missing $752,544, says a FaBB Board member

Gambia's First Lady, Mrs. Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow

The recent case of a mysterious bank transaction amounting to a little over $750,000 that originated from Hong Kong via the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Chinese to Guaranty Trust Bank, London Branch to Novo Banko in Lisbon before being lodged into the account of the First Lady's Fatoumata Bah Barrow's Foundation (FaBB) at the Guaranty Trust Bank in Banjul.

Although the transaction took place last December, it was not until last week that the public became aware.  It has since raised more questions than the officials of the Foundations can provide answers to an increasingly frustrated public that should be a cause for concern, not only to Gambia's First Lady and officials of the FaBB but to the Barrow government.

A Board member of the Foundation recently provided a glimpse at what their strategy will be.  The Foundation representative immediately claimed ignorance of who deposited the money and for what purpose the over $750,000 was meant for.  In fact, the representative while denying that the money belongs to the First Lady's Foundation, she announced that the matter will be investigated, not by an outside independent arbiter but by members of the Board of the Foundation.

Further inquiries by the online press further revealed that when the monies were deposited at the Guaranty Bank, the amount was transferred to an account operated by White Airways, a Portuguese charter airline company but was returned soon thereafter to the Foundations account with the Guaranty Trust Bank in Banjul. 

Speaking to a local newspaper, the Foundation representative revealed that FaBB reserves the right to share the finding of the investigations by members of the Foundation with the public because they are a private and not a public entity that is entirely funded by private donations.  Of course this sweeping claim fails to take cognisance of the fact that the First Lady is the First Lady of The Gambia with a fully-funded Office of The First Lady, serviced by Gambian civil servants, all paid by Gambian civil servants.  Her ability to raise all those humongous sums is not by being citizen Fatoumata Bah Barrow but as the wife of the President of The Republic.   

However, since the announcement more details came to light as revealed by the FatuNetwork, an online online television outlet that the transfer was made by a Chinese energy company named TBEA that is currently bidding, and has been declared a leading contender, for a transmission and distribution project under NAWEC, Gambia's public utility company.  It just so happens that the Foundation representative who assured Gambians that the Foundation will get to the bottom of the mysterious transfer also happens to be a member of the Board of NAWEC.

As at the time of writing this blog post, the entire (and precise) amount of $752,544.42 is still unaccounted for.  Of course, Gambians are asking the same questions as any reasonable person would:  Where's the money, who was it transferred to and for what purpose?  It must be noted that this transfer occurred last December but it was not until last week when the matter became public that the Fatoumata Bah Barrow Foundation officials offered to investigate the matter, the results of which they will not necessarily share with Gambians. 

We will not do justice to this story without bringing in sharper focus the role the Guaranty Trust Bank has played during the Jammeh era and they continue to play in the financial sector of The Gambia's economy.  In the banking business, the initials KYC stands for Know Your Customer - a mantra that GTBank appears to ignore, if not flout regularly as evidenced by the revelations in the Commission of Inquiry looking into the financial affairs of the former dictator. 

One would have thought with the vigilance of the international financial authorities and national treasuries across the world regarding illicit transfers, money laundering activities of traffickers in drugs, humans and small arms, banks operating in The Gambia, including Guaranty Trust Bank would be more hawk-eyed by conducting extra vigilant due diligence.  We hope more care will be taken in future.  We intend to examine this and related matters relating to the banking sector in subsequent posts.


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Social Security in figures: Is SSHFC turning the corner?

SSHFC MD, Manjang

Many Gambians were introduced to Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) through intermittent sessions of the Commission of Inquiry into the financial dealings of former president Jammeh that has been sitting for well over a year now.

While many Gambians were introduced to what amounted to financial horror stories, SSHC has, under new leadership, including a Chairman of the Board, a retired international civil servant and a former employee of NAWEC, have started to make some progress.

While it might be a little too early to be excited about turn of events, there are a couple of signs to indicate the corporation is turning the corner.  The preliminary audited 2017 results show material improvement over 2016.  According to audited figures, 2017 Operating Profit is D83.5 million compared to 2016's loss of D26 million.

The Operating Profit of D83.5 million is higher than the total sum of corporation's Operating Profits of the previous four years 2013 - 2016.  This result was achieved despite strong income headwinds.

Investment income or recurring income in 2017 is D23 million better than in 2016.  The corporation cost management strategy implemented in 2017 seems to be working with total cost down by D88 million.  It is anticipated that the cost containment strategy will continue to the implemented in the years ahead, according to management sources.

What is satisfying also, according to management, is that "every single fund was profitable in 2017 compared to 2016 when only the Pension and Injuries Fund were profitable." 

The prospects for a complete turnaround are bright provided that the management strategies and policies already in place and in the pipeline are implemented with minimal distractions designed to impede progress in one of the country's most important institution.

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DISCLOSURE: My spouse is a retiree who's former employer contributed in SSHFC

R2K welcomes Minister of Justice's promise to investigate the pardoning of Mr. Sandaker

The Right to Know (R2K) Gambia welcomes the commitment made to the country, by the Minister of Justice,  Tambadou, to investigate the pardoning of Mr. Sandaker.  In a statement released 25th August, 2018, the Minister pledged to clear up the controversial decision by the President to pardon Mr. Svein Sandaker, a Norwegian, who was convicted by Gambian courts for paedophilia.

Minister Tambadou said: "I will to the bottom of the matter and find out how the MoJ came to be associated with the purported conflicting statements released on our twitter page."    

Although the statement of the Minister is a positive undertaking, R2K still remains gravely concerned about this unfortunate incident.  We demand answers to fundamental questions, as to how any person could be pardoned without the knowledge of the Justice Minister who chairs the Prerogative of Mercy Committee.

We find it curious that the announcement of the pardons were done through the twitter handle of the MoJ, yet the Minister has vehemently denied having any prior knowledge of these developments.  We find this to be very concerning, as it does not bode well for the principles of law and good governance in our new found democracy.

We look forward to receiving further information as to when this investigation will commence, who will be leading it, and whether it will be an open and transparent process. 

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The Justice Minister must step down or be dismissed

Ba Tambadou, Attorney General and Minister of Justice 

Paradise TV, an online television station, is reporting that the Justice Ministry is investigating the circumstance that led to the pardoning of one Svein Aage Sandaker, a Norwegian national and a convicted pedophile.  

He was serving a prison sentence at Mile II for sexually assaulting young Gambian children (both boys and girls) including a young male child aged 4.  The convicted pedophile is also wanted in Norway for similar offenses, according to sources.

In a Facebook posting, Paradise TV is quoting a source in the Justice Ministry who prefers to remain anonymous that the “ministry has not been aware of the decision to grant Svein Aage Sandaker a presidential pardon as part of the observance of the Muslim feast of Tabaski.”

If the news as reported is true, it makes no sense whatsoever because on Monday 20^th August 2018, the Ministry of Justice, under the hand of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, issued a public notice informing Gambians that President Barrow, in exercising his constitutional powers of prerogative of mercy has decided to grant pardon to seven convicted felons.

Among the seven who benefited was notorious Norwegian pedophile who was first sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined D600,000 in 2012 in default to serve an additional 3 years.  It is reported that he was in default back in 2015 and had to serve an additional 3 years to be due for release this year – when specifically, we cannot determine for lack of information.  

The news that he was to receive presidential pardon immediately kicked up a dust storm, both in social media, on the ground and in the diaspora so loud and furious that the ministry found the need to offer a clarification that government intention was not to release Svein Aage Sandaker but to extradite him to Norway – a clarification that was immediately dispelled for being a highly implausible occurrence because it contradicted the official government announcement that clearly states that the seven prisoners were being granted a presidential pardon and not an extradition.  

It was also unclear if there is an extradition treaty between The Gambia and Norway, and if there is, there appears to have been no discernable signs of bilateral negotiations between the two countries.  Either the Gambia or Norway or both would have made public pronouncements to that effect.

According to reports, including from sources close to the Justice Minister, who is currently in Mecca, was totally unaware that the Norwegian was on the list.  Regardless of who was responsible for inserting Svein Aage Sandaker’s name in the  list, if that’s what happened – which raises even more damning issues – the legal kerfuffle demonstrates, once more, that the Justice Minister lacks the competence and wherewithal to perform his functions in a non-partisan and impartial manner. 

In a nutshell, Ba Tambadou lacks the professional (courtroom) experience to be an effective Attorney General and too conflicted and partisan to be impartial in his role as the chief legal adviser to the President of the Republic.

With these facts before the Gambian people, his mishandling of the SEMLEX affair - which is now being investigated by a Parliamentary Committee and simultaneously being litigated in the courts -  and the eyebrow-raising case that involved the minister’s brother and the wife of the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (renamed the State Intelligence Agency) that can only be interpreted as interfering in an ongoing case he was involved that led to his recusal, the Justice Minister must take full responsibility and resign honorably or be dismissed summarily.  

Gambians have been treated recently by this government with one disastrous and confidence shattering scandals after another, accompanied in each case with implausible and clumsy explanations and clarifications that succeeded only in exposing the lack of candor and downright subterfuge.   These prevarications have shaken the confidence Gambians to the core.

Mr. Jeggan Grey-Johnson of the Open Society Foundation based in Johannesburg on a phone interview to solicit his views on recent developments concluded that “the system has broken – as principles of governance and rule of law were flouted in totality,” referring to the case of the convicted pedophile whose presidential pardon is now in limbo.

The fact that the Ministry was unaware of Mr. Svein Aage Sandaker being on the list of felons to be pardoned was equally perplexing to Jeggan Grey-Johnson for a ministry that “is an integral part of the prerogative of mercy process, precisely because this is a case of legality and justice.”     

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