By Kebba AF Touray
The Gambia’s Finance Minister, Seedy Keita, informed the National Assembly on Monday, September 17, 2024, that the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) is not obligated to pay the US$1,845,500 (D37,792,100.34) to the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), as per a court judgment.
The said amount was initially reported to have been omitted from the 2020 financial report of GRTS, as highlighted in the resolutions of the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC). Minister Keita was responding to PEC’s resolutions on the operations of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
PEC had previously resolved that “The Auditor General must investigate the status of US$1,845,500 (D37,792,100.34) from SSHFC, which was omitted from GRTS’s payable records, and report back to the committee by the end of July 2024.”
Minister Keita clarified, “The SSHFC initiated a civil suit against GRTS, and as a result, this was recognized as a contingent liability in the 2021 financial statement. However, the final judgment from the court determined that GRTS has no obligation to pay this amount.”
Regarding the resolution for GRTS’s Board and Management to develop credit control and impairment policies by the end of December 2024, Minister Keita noted that debtor balances had been thoroughly reviewed and updated.
“Recommendations for a write-off proposal, as well as a provisioning/impairment policy, were sent to the Board for consideration and approval,” he said.
On the Assets Management and Recovery Corporation’s (AMRC) 2020 reports, PEC resolved that the Board and Management must implement a disaster recovery plan by the end of December 2024 to ensure the swift restoration of systems and operations. However, Minister Keita stated that this resolution has not been implemented yet, as “AMRC is currently undergoing liquidation processes.”
Regarding the resolution that the AMRC Board and Management must ensure all valuable assets of the corporation are adequately insured by the end of December 2024, Minister Keita confirmed that this resolution has already been implemented.
