This call was stated in the PEC Consolidated Report on the Performance Audit Reports of GAMTEL on Service Delivery and GCAA on Budget Management by the NAO.
The PEC report tasks GAMTEL, in collaboration with its line Ministry and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Commission on SOE, to prioritise the recovery of outstanding debts owed by public institutions.
While tabling the report before parliament, the Chairperson of PEC, Hon Lamin J. Sanneh, stated that The Auditor's review into Arrears Owed to GAMTEL by MDAs and SOEs, along with discussions with GAMTEL management, unveiled that as of February 2023, GAMTEL held receivables accumulated from 2015 to 2020 totalled one hundred and fifty-two million dalasis (D152M) from various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
Additionally, he said there were outstanding amounts of forty-five million dalasis (D45M) from SOEs, summing up to one hundred and ninety-seven million dalasis (D197M) from telecommunication services provided by GAMTEL, encompassing both voice and internet services.
“Similarly, it was observed that various private individuals and businesses also owe significant amounts to GAMTEL,” the PEC chairman stated. “However, the audit team was unable to determine the total amount owed by these private and business customers due to GAMTEL's lack of data on this crucial aspect of the business.”
He also added: “It was noted that the company does not have a credit threshold effectively indicating that customers, particularly public institutions, continue utilising GAMTEL’s services without paying for them. Moreover, at the time of the audit, GAMTEL had no statutory debt recovery strategy to ensure the debts were efficiently and effectively recovered.”
He also revealed that during the period spanning 2019 to 2022, the Auditors discovered that there was a substantial demand for both Gfiber and ADSL services, far surpassing the available supply provided by GAMTEL.
He added that the audit uncovered that GAMTEL “lacks the necessary infrastructure” to keep up with the increasing demand, resulting in a significant portion of the population being “underserved”.
Hon. Sanneh went further: “This deficiency was attributed to the inadequate implementation of the National Broadband Network (NBN) project, wherein fiber access terminals (FATs) were installed in locations distant from residential areas, severely restricting accessibility.
“Additionally, it was observed that in certain areas, customers faced difficulties in obtaining internet connectivity due to the exhaustion of ADSL cards, consequently impeding supply efforts.”
The committee recommended that “GAMTEL urgently expands its network coverage” to meet the growing demand, especially considering that internet packages are its primary revenue source.
