Transport Minister Ebrima Sillah faced angry lawmakers about a failed embassy project. He admitted his government made huge mistakes building their mission office abroad. The project cost millions but created a building that cannot be used. Poor planning and bad supervision turned the construction into a disaster. Guinea-Bissau gave Gambia land for the embassy back during 2008.
Nobody checked if the government actually owned the land before starting construction. Local contractors got hired without any fair bidding process. The minister said he never saw records showing how these people got selected. Workers built the embassy with such poor quality that it might collapse. Fixing the building would cost just as much as the original project.
Sillah wants to tear down the building and start over from scratch. He told parliament that future embassy projects need better rules. Multiple government departments must work together on overseas construction. The Finance Ministry and Justice Department should check every step. Better supervision will prevent similar problems from happening again.
Lawmakers demanded to know who would face punishment for wasting taxpayer money. The minister explained that his department only got involved after people complained about the building. He said the Foreign Affairs Ministry handled most of the original project decisions. Parliament leaders promised to question the Foreign Minister separately about the mess.
Nobody checked if the government actually owned the land before starting construction. Local contractors got hired without any fair bidding process. The minister said he never saw records showing how these people got selected. Workers built the embassy with such poor quality that it might collapse. Fixing the building would cost just as much as the original project.
Sillah wants to tear down the building and start over from scratch. He told parliament that future embassy projects need better rules. Multiple government departments must work together on overseas construction. The Finance Ministry and Justice Department should check every step. Better supervision will prevent similar problems from happening again.
Lawmakers demanded to know who would face punishment for wasting taxpayer money. The minister explained that his department only got involved after people complained about the building. He said the Foreign Affairs Ministry handled most of the original project decisions. Parliament leaders promised to question the Foreign Minister separately about the mess.
