By Edrissa Jallow
The National Assembly’s acting Chairperson for the Select Committee on Agriculture warned Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture that he would move a motion to set up a Commission of Inquiry if the delays in procurement of fertilizer occur in subsequent years.
This was after the Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Hassan Jallow shocked Parliamentarians of the Select Committee when he admitted that he had no idea of the latest fertilizer procurement to testify on the matter. According to PS Jallow, he is not aware of when the process of fertilizer procurement started.
“I don’t exactly know when this process started, I may not have been at the Ministry at the time it started,” said PS Jallow to Parliamentarians during a Committee meeting held on 4th July 2022.
In reaction to his admission the acting Chairperson of the Committee, Hon Yahya Menteng Sanyang quizzed the PS to confirm if he will “not [be] giving any testimony [at the Committee Meeting]?” Mr Jallow responded in the negative with a short response saying “I don’t think so”.
Acting Chairperson Hon Sanyang put it to Mr Jallow that “Permanent Secretaries are the chief technocrats of the Ministry [and] this whole process happens under your — mandate and you don’t have anything to say? Is that what you are telling the Hon members [of the National Assembly]?”
PS Jallow confirmed to the Committee, that’s “exactly — what I am saying”. He gave more details when he explained that he has not been part of the recent fertilizer procurement process. However, in the past as the Deputy Permanent Secretary, he was involved in the procurement of fertilizer.
Our research revealed a professional LinkedIn Profile for Hassan Jallow who identifies himself as the PS for the Ministry of Agriculture. According to the profile, Hassan Jallow has been the PS at the Ministry of Agriculture on two occasions since the change in Government in 2016. His first stint was from December 2017 to July 2019 and again from March 2021 to date.
Parliamentarians were quite surprised that the Permanent Secretary had nothing to say on the fertilizer issue. However, the Deputy Permanent Secretary, the Finance Officer and Staff from the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GCC) which recently changed its name to National Food Security, Process and Marketing Cooperation, testified at the Committee meeting after swearing-in.
Price Hike and Farmer’s Concerns
Gambian farmers have been faced with a significant price hike on fertilizer this year from D750 in 2021 to D2,500 in 2022. The price hike in fertilizer has been attributed to the war in Ukraine and compounded by the Covid-19 Pandemic which has affected supply chains across the world.
According to a publication on Foroyaa Newspaper dated 25th May 2022, the Managing director of GGC who testified before the Select Committee on Agriculture explained that “due to sanctions imposed on Russia which bars countries from trading with them, we moved faster and procured fertilizer well before the start of the season”.
However, farmers are still raising concerns that “most farming communities struggled to afford the price of fertilizer in the past; with this [over] 100% increment on this most important farm input, it will be almost impossible for many farmers to get access to [sufficient] fertilizer this year”.
Speaking to his newly appointed Minister of Agriculture Mr Sabally and the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mr Keita, President Adama Barrow told them that “no matter how difficult the circumstances, my government cannot ignore the plight of Gambian farmers”.
In reaction to the price increase, the Government subsidized the price and announced a reduction from D2,500 to D2,000 on 15th June 2022. See the press release below on the Government subsidy on fertilizer and President Adama Barrow’s quoted statements to Cabinet Ministers Sabally and Keita.
Next Time Commission of Inquiry Will Investigate Fertiliser Procurement Delay
In response to PS Jallow’s admission, acting Chairperson Hon Sanyang warned him that “this is not going to be accepted” and that the Ministry of Agriculture should not delay fertilizers procurement which Gambian farmers depend on for their produce.
The Hon member for Latrikunda Sabiji, Hon Sanyang thanked the witnesses for attending the hearing on time, however, he warned them not to delay fertilizer procurement in subsequent years.
The member who won a seat via a United Democratic Party (UDP) ticket reminded officials that “Permanent Secretaries are the accountant officers, but next time I will advise you to pay attention to this type of sensitive details under your watch because it’s very important”.
He continued to express his dissatisfaction with the procurement delays when he noted that Gambian “farmers will not continue to suffer because of certain institutions’ negligence or lack of institutional collaboration to deliver fertilizer at the appropriate time for farming. This is not going to be accepted by this committee in our subsequent engagement”.
To avert another delay Hon Sanyang informed officials that “next time it happens I will move a motion for this committee to set up a commission of enquiry by way of section 109 subsection 3 paragraph c of the 1997 constitution.”
The aforementioned section 109 subsection 3 (c) of the 1997 constitution, states that “for the purpose of effectively performing its functions, each of the committees shall have all the powers, rights and privileges as are vested in the high court at a trial in respect of the issue of a commission or request to examine witness abroad”.
Acting Chairperson Hon Sanyang explained that the report of the Commission of Inquiry will not be submitted to the Executive for action, instead, it will be tabled at the National Assembly for action. He warned Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to be very careful to avoid a repeat of the delay.
After the exchange, four delegates as mentioned above testified before the Committee. The discussions began to flow prompting PS Jallow to chime in with clarifications. At that point, Hon Sanyang ordered PS Jallow to take an oath before providing additional clarifications on the challenges that his Ministry faced. PS Jallow duly obliged by swearing-in and seized the opportunity to elaborate on some of the challenges around the fertilizer bids.
Watch the first and second parts of the Committee Meeting on Gainako Online News Facebook live stream below.