State-sponsored Robbery and Corruption
By Madi Jobarteh
The Gambia has its airport related state security institutions namely the Immigration, Police, Intelligence and Customs in tact. These are the institutions and other agencies necessary to provide all manner of security services required in all our land, sea and air ports. These are the institutions found at ports of entry in every country led by a serious government. Therefore, why should a foreign company be imposed on Gambians just to loot for free!
Securiport contract is illegal as advised by the Ministry of Justice. Securiport is counter productive to national interest. The services they purportedly provide is a basic service that national security institutions can adequately and efficiently provide. Hence Securiport is not necessary.
This so-called airport passenger security fee is a fake service intended to extort money from innocent passengers. It is a fee that is not sanctioned by any law nor approved by the National Assembly.
The corruption of this fee is evident in its enforcement. Why would the fee be different for various passports if the service delivered is the same? A Gambian passport holder does not enjoy any more benefits than a non-Gambian passport holder at the airport. Therefore why would one passport holder pay D1000 and another pay $20?
What exact services is Securiport providing? Placing the security of the airport in the hands of a foreign company is to undermine national security and capacity of relevant institutions. An example of such a corrupt and irresponsible decision was the Semlex contract for the printing of national documents. The moment Semlex left the country, a national document crisis erupted even though the Semlex contract provided for technology and skills transfer. For many months, there was no national ID Cards or drivers license available! Did the technology and skills transfer take place?
Similarly, the Securiport contract is another scam to loot passengers, undermine national security and weaken institutional capacity. One day when Securiport also leaves, we will find that our security institutions will become impotent to provide the same services.
Stop the Airport Passenger Security Fee.
