XALIMANEWS: (Sud Quotidien) The General Affairs Brigade (BAG) of the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) has started its hearings in the Prodac case. This Saturday, the daily Libération returned to the main points of the report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), at the origin of the complaint with the constitution of a civil party filed by the State Judicial Agent.
The famous report from the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the management of the Community Agricultural Estates Program (Prodac) was sent to the Criminal Investigation Division (DIC), following a complaint filed by the Judicial Agent of the ‘State. The latter had become a civil party.
According to our colleagues, the investigation was entrusted to the General Affairs Brigade (BAG), an entity of the DIC located at the Palace of Justice. Moreover, the BAG has started its hearings. Indeed, Khadim Ba, general director of Locafrique, was taken from prison and questioned yesterday. Faced with investigators, the project lessor indicated, among other things, that it was he himself who had launched the alert after discovering suspicious invoices. One thing is certain: the IGF has brought to light vast financial carnage. In their conclusions, the investigators recommended the opening of at least two judicial investigations.
According to the auditors, the overall cost of the project is estimated at 26.6 billion FCFA, an amount considered exorbitant given the impossibility of achieving the strategic objective of massive job creation, as confirmed by all. the actors, which raised suspicions of overbilling on the part of the lessor. Indeed, by comparing the prices of Green 2000 with those of the market, Locafrique had noted several discrepancies, confirmed in the field. Despite this, with the complicity of the former leaders of Prodac, Green 2000 received the sum of 15 billion FCFA, transferred to an account at Hapolim Bank in Israel, thus escaping state control. To limit the damage, the IGF recommended the immediate suspension of payments.
15 billion FCFA transferred legally to an account in Israel
The IGF also wrote: “Given the overall cost of the project, it is imperative, if only to preserve the interests of the State, to make the necessary corrective measures. » As a reminder, if the Green 2000 project continues, it would cost the State of Senegal the staggering sum of 36.5 billion FCFA, as shown by the repayment schedule.
The shortcomings in the execution of the Green 2000 project can be explained by the absence of adequate controls by Prodac, which did not put in place an appropriate monitoring system, which would have made it possible to force its co-contractor to respect its contractual obligations. Not only was this control not carried out, but even after being informed of the numerous violations of Green 2000, Prodac was unable to make the necessary corrections. The alert letters from Locafrique, the lessor, did not receive adequate attention from Prodac, which nevertheless continued to validate the payment requests without any prior verification.
The IGF reported that, without the slightest verification, 12.6 billion FCFA had been disbursed to Green 2000. This amount does not include unpaid invoices at the time, wrongly estimated at 5.3 billion FCFA. . Thus, the accumulation of sums already paid and pending invoices totals 17.2 billion FCFA. However, at the same time, the services carried out on the ground were largely insufficient. For example, for the Itato site, Green 2000 presented two invoices totaling 3.4 billion FCFA, including 1.2 billion already paid in advance, while the studies are not even available yet and that no equipment has been delivered.
At the Keur Samba Kane DAC, the situation is similar, with equipment delivered while the storage infrastructure is not even ready. Questioned on this subject, Daniel Pinhassi of Green 2000 cited a delay in payment. This unjustified anticipation requires particular attention to prevent the State from finding itself in a complex situation due to the failings of its co-contractor.
A spoiled contract
Despite these anomalies, paragraph 2 of the article of the technical contract between Green 2000 and Prodac stipulated that the company had to submit, at least 14 days before the first payment request, a list of the values of the works to be carried out to facilitate the evaluation of payments. This procedure was never respected, and Prodac took no measures to force Green 2000 to do so. Furthermore, the payment requests did not include any declaration of the products delivered, as was required.
The IGF denounces the absence of any prior control by Prodac, which simply transmitted the payment requests to the financier, without filtering the information or requiring valid supporting documents. This lightness resulted in the payment of 5.9 billion FCFA to Green 2000 for the first installments, as well as an additional 6.8 billion FCFA, not counting the 5.3 billion pending invoices.
No transparency in payment control
The inspection office responsible for supervising the project revealed that to date, no documents or invoices have been submitted for inspection. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to evaluate the work carried out and the amounts disbursed, worsening the project management situation.
In conclusion, the IGF also underlined that Green 2000 had transmitted payment documents in Hebrew, while the contract was in French.
Liberation
