By Biran Gaye
The Gambia National Petroleum Company (GNPC) has moved to strengthen operational controls and oversight after repeated incidents involving fuel sales during discharge and verification lapses, according to officials who appeared before the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC) of the Parliament.
“Sales during discharge are not a shortage. It is a risk element,” Director of Accounts at GNPC Alieu Jobe told PEC on Monday, addressing concerns raised about improper fuel sales and the risks they pose.
He added: “Like when a pandemic comes, and it’s disturbing the world, we suddenly need to look at the selling of the customers. We have to focus on sales until discharge is completed.”
Officials acknowledged that, in the past, improper practices—such as sales occurring before proper physical discharge or verification—had occurred at some stations.
“Warnings have been sent to them,” Jobe said, referring to staff found in breach of standard procedures. “We discourage our staff from [these] operational activities.”
Verification and Documentation
Accounts Director Jobe reported that GNPC has implemented stricter monitoring, particularly in documenting fuel balances.
“You cannot just tell me that when we verify the schedule, I verify it. That’s my watermark. But we give you a template and do your verification outside of it,” the operations manager said. “If you did not verify, and the detained truck driver goes, and then later on you realise that there is something, it becomes now a contiguous issue.”
“Not verifying could lead to fraud,” the official added. “It could lead to pollution. Because one day, if you do not verify, and the detained truck driver goes, and then later on you realise that there is something, it becomes now a contiguous issue.”
GNPC has since introduced a policy ensuring that, before discharge, tank estimates are taken, and after allowing fuel to settle, the final delivery is confirmed.
“If we have any difference, it is automatically charged to the programme… I don’t think there can be any better control than that,” the official asserted.
Persistent Issues at Bansang
The Bansang station was singled out for repeated violations.
“We had issues in Bansang in the past… they put in more emphasis and focus on the fact that it is not always very stable,” one manager revealed. “We had a lot of incidents in Bansang in the past. And therefore, we have to increase the risk level.”
The root cause, officials say, is less about capacity or training and more about integrity.
“It’s not about capacity. It’s a problem of honesty, and that exists everywhere,” a senior official said. “Controlling fuel is the most difficult thing you can do.”
Discipline and Oversight
GNPC has responded by calibrating all storage tanks and introducing tighter logistics.
“The tanks have been properly calibrated now, with proper logistics, so they show correct readings. And staff who are found wanting are disciplined. It’s deducted from their salaries. Or if it is continuous, they are terminated,” he added.
However, management admits that the “human factor remains” and that vigilance must continue. “We need to do proper vigilance and impose sanctions where sanctions are required,” a board member said.
Questions also arose regarding IT oversight after auditors flagged the absence of a dedicated IT steering committee at the board level.
The board chair addressed the issue: “The board ensures the integrity of the systems are in place and that they are consistently applied. But I don’t think the board also will be helping by… going down to the level of the IT staff to say, look, let me see your system.”
He added that the board had been short of two members, which has since been corrected with government appointments.
“Next week, when we have our board meeting… all these committees will be in place,” the chair said, committing to add IT oversight to one of the new subcommittees.
The company is expected to finalise new oversight structures at its upcoming board meeting, aiming to restore public confidence and reduce operational risks.
