In a heated back-and-forth with committee members, Mr. Kanyi was taken to task over his companyโs controversial valuation of vehicles formerly used by ex-president Yahya Jammeh.
The GTSC boss admitted that his team used the year of manufacture not the actual date of purchase or usage as the basis for depreciation, a move described by lawmakers as a fundamental breach of accounting principles.
โYou cannot depreciate an asset based on the year it was manufactured,โ Hon Kebba Lแบกng Fofana fired, visibly exasperated. โThatโs completely wrong, an error in principle, application, and accounting.โ
Mr. Kanyi, attempting to defend the decision, cited โmissing informationโ about the actual purchase dates of the vehicles and claimed that in the absence of accurate records, his team relied on the year the buses were manufactured to estimate how much value they had lost.
โInformation asymmetry limited us,โ he said. โWe did not know the year of acquisition. So we used what we had the manufacturing date to guide our depreciation.โ
But lawmakers were not convinced. They pointed out inconsistencies in the GTSCโs own documentation, including fluctuating depreciation rates of 20% and 25%, confusion over actual market values, and apparent duplication of figures across different buses despite differences in age and condition.
Hon. Fofana then walked Mr. Kanyi through a hypothetical: โIf you bought a bus in 2025 that was manufactured in 2018, when would you start depreciating it?โ
โIn 2025 when we start using it,โ Kanyi answered.
โThen why did you apply depreciation from the year of manufacture in your report?โ the lawmaker pressed.
Kanyi paused: โWell, based on the info. available.โ
The Hon. Member labelled the report "compromised" and said it "does not pass the test" for accurate valuation.
He also questioned why the reportโs remarks section failed to disclose that the year of manufacture, not acquisition, was being used potentially to mislead stakeholders.
โYour compromises diluted the authenticity of the report,โ he snapped.
Beyond depreciation issues, the hearing also touched on the mysterious cannibalisation of state vehicles with parts like engines and alternators reportedly missing, sold off, or stolen. Kanyi admitted that some of these parts might have been sold as scrap, citing the black market value of materials like copper.
Despite the tension, Kanyi stood by his teamโs efforts, suggesting that the vehiclesโ market values though imprecise were based on expertise and conditions on the ground.
โAny bus that is 10 to 15 years old and still running will be around the value we gave,โ he said. โThis is not rocket science.โ
Still, the committee was unimpressed, urging GTSC to submit any other valuation reports that might reflect a more accurate and accountable process.
