Mrs. Jallow-Jeng:
It is indeed refreshing for you to report the true picture at NAWEC. The
cloud of suspicion in trying to tarnish Mr. Conteh's image should not be
tolerated by any decient Gambian.
As an anti-Jammeh soldier, it is incumbent upon me to thank you for your
candid message, regardless of whether Alhagie is my brother or not. I try
to be very careful from being accused of nepotism. We must speak up
wherever there is injustice. The Gambian civil service cannot go through
this period of callous ineffective management from dictator yahya jemus.
I want to thank you again.
Naphiyo,
Comrade ML Jassey-Conteh
------Original Message------
From: Haddijatou Jallow-Jeng <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: February 6, 2001 5:28:59 PM GMT
Subject: FWD:Nawec Saga Takes New Twist, Conteh Exonerated From Blame
Nawec Saga Takes New Twist, Conteh Exonerated From Blame
Email This Page
Print This Page
The Independent
February 5, 2001
Posted to the web February 5, 2001
Banjul
Recently, it was announced that Alhagie Conteh was dismissed as managing
director of the National Water and Electricity Corporation NAWEC) because he
was accused of involvement in a deal to defraud the country by allegedly
inflating the cost of a 6 megawatt generator while signing a contract
between NAWEC and Mirrlees Blackstone.
According to a press release from the Office of the President, Mr. Conteh
"deliberately inflated " the cost of the generator, alleging that the money
was meant for President Jammeh for his election campaign. However, according
to a story carried by The Independent of last Friday, Alhagie Conteh's
removal from office could have been due to his refusal to sign another
contract document allegedly presented to him by certain powerful
individuals.
On Friday, The Independent received the following statement from one David
Copeland, signing as general manager sales for Mann and BW Limited in the
United Kingdom "to clarify the issue":
Dear Sir/Madam, We shall be obliged if you will, in the interest of the
public, print the following text which reflects our reaction to the news
broadcast of the 18th /19th January, 2001 on national television and radio
which related to the contract between Nawec and our organisation, Mirrlees
Blackstone. Yours faithfully, D. W. J. Copeland - General Manager Sales
Statement.
We refer to the news broadcast of the 18th /19th January, 2001 on national
television & radio, and in the press, which related to the contract between
Nawec and our organisation, Mirrlees Blackstone. Any inference that Mr.
Lamin Sanneh (Ministry of Works), Mr. A B Dandeh N'Jie (Mirrlees
representative in the Gambia) or Mr. David Cliff (Mirrlees Area Sales
Manager for Africa) were party to any 'fraudulent contractual arrangement'
is unfounded and totally rejected.
The integrity of these three individuals stands untarnished. Mr. Sanneh and
Mr. Dandeh N'Jie did not take any part in the negotiations but merely acted
as witnesses to signatures. The contract was not 'negotiated single handedly
by the Managing Director of NAWEC'. The extent of supply, terms of payment,
and conditions of contract were developed over a two year period which
culminated in a draft document being prepared in July 1999 following
discussions with Messrs Corr, N'Dure and Jarjussey of NAWEC. This document
in turn formed the basis for the final Contract Document dated 27th October
2000, completed in Banjul; those persons who attended these final
negotiations included Mr. Corr, Mr. N'Dure, Mr. Bahoum, Mr. Jarjussey, Mr.
Conteh (part time), Mr. Mendi (part time).
Every page of the contract document comprising 223 pages was firstly
initialled by three NAWEC representatives - Mr. Corr, Mr. Ndure & Mr.
Bahoum, and Mr. Alhaji Conteh also added his initials to each page. There
was no 'inflated price'. The basic contract figure was agreed in July 1999,
some six months before Mr Conteh was appointed to office. The Mirrlees price
was not 'deliberately inflated'. A previous price was agreed and contracted
between Nawec and a reputable independent contractor in January 2000 in the
sum of £4,350,500 for supplying the same Mirrlees set (this contract was
cancelled for want of a bank guarantee); whereas our contract sum as agreed
on the 27th October 2000 is in the much lower sum of £3,400,000. The
equipment will take 10 months to install and commission from effectiveness
of contract.
However in view of the urgency and the desperate need to increase the
national power supply, we have identified the engine block and have also
undertaken the first civil works surveys of the power station. These have
been done in good faith prior to the contract being made financially
effective by NAWEC, with the aim of achieving significant saving on
implementation time and to carry out the contract efficiently. We value the
excellent working relationship and goodwill that has existed between Nawec
and our organisation for many years, and we shall be ready to be of service
to Nawec and Kotu Power Station in time of need."<br clear=all><hr>Get your
FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a
href="http://explorer.msn.com">http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to
[log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your
full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
