Technicians from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation took part, on Tuesday, in a clarification exercise on over-the-counter contracts for which Cheikh Dieng incriminated Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dièye. According to them, Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dièye only carried out the recommendations of the technical working group which, after noting delays and shortcomings in the execution of contracts, recommended a direct agreement procedure with companies whose capacity is recognized, in order to correct the errors.

The denial by ONAS was not enough to dampen the ardour of its former Director General who returned to the charge on Monday to call for light to be shed on « the essential problem of over-the-counter markets which crystallizes the debate. » This is the exercise that the Ministry of Water and Sanitation (MHA) engaged in on Tuesday to shed light on this affair which has been at the forefront of national news for several days. If Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, accused by his former collaborator, did not attend the press conference, the MHA technicians made every effort to dismantle the accusations of the outgoing director against Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dièye who, according to them, only engaged in a rectification procedure after having noted delays and serious failures in the execution of the said contracts.

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« As at July 26, 2024, after 66% of the agreed deadlines had been consumed, a low level of execution of barely 10% in Dakar and a little over 30% in the regions was noted. The investigations carried out revealed that of the six companies consulted, only Delgas had known experience in the sanitation sub-sector, » revealed Oumar Sène, Director of Sanitation, further indicating that companies with proven experience and capacity in the field were not consulted. « In addition, high billing discrepancies were noted compared to the average prices of services provided in recent years, » continued the Director of Sanitation, highlighting in this regard the cleaning of the catchment area basin indexed in the 2024 market at 300 million CFA francs excluding VAT against 83 million CFA francs as the overall amount of the 2021-2023 customer market rates. He also highlighted in this register the unit price of the linear meter « cleaning of closed channels width less than 1.5 m with ventilation » of the regional market increased from 1,500 francs in the 2021-2023 customer market to 18,000 francs for the current campaign. « The unit price of the linear meter cleaning of closed channels width greater than 1.5 m with ventilation » which was 3,000 F Cfa in the 2021-2023 customer market of the regional market, is billed at 23,000 Cfa francs », added Mr. Sène.

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« It was also noted that the Dao (Tender Document) transmitted by the Operations and Maintenance Directorate (DEM) of the Onas were modified without notification. This led to a discrepancy in the quantity of the heading “closed channel cleaning less than 1.5m” on the regional market. In the quotation awarded, it is 6000 ml while that transmitted by the DEM is 40 000 ml,” he said. And, stated that this surplus would have had a financial impact of  612 million francs on the dedicated envelope of 1 billion, 324 million and 255 thousand francs. Mr. Sène reported that it was following a working group meeting on July 27 with representatives from the ONAS and the Ministry, confirming the slowness and variances in costs and taking into account the urgency of the situation, that further action was taken.

Complaint of the Onas against Cheikh Dieng

This is about the termination of the procedure with Tawfekh for the Dakar lot and a partial termination of the contract for lot 2 concerning the regions. And also, the relaunch of the market through “direct agreement procedure for emergencies”. This was, it seems, the subject of the letter from the minister sent on 29 July to Dg Cheikh Dieng, who was ordered «not to sign the contracts». «Given the urgent need, the Minister applied to the Dcmp (Central Procurement Directorate) on the same day for authorization to conduct procurement through an exemption procedure provided by the Public Procurement Code with companies having the required capacity and that were proposed unanimously by the members of the working group, said Madické Cissé, director of flood prevention and management. 

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«From that moment on, all the diligences were to be undertaken by the Onas. With the change in the head of this structure, the minister wrote to the DMC on August 13, 2024, indicating that it is up to the new DG to conduct the procedure,” he added. While supporting the decisions taken by the Trusteeship and as part of a more effective and efficient management of the pressing issue of floods.

The meeting was also an opportunity for the Mha to recall that the Onas filed a complaint against Cheikh Dieng for statements regarding the acquisition of the vehicle. This means that this issue, which does not leave the public indifferent, is far from having its final word.
By Alioune Badara NDIAYE / abndiaye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH