Daouda Ngom testifies on procurement irregularities in student computer program

Former Minister of Higher Education Daouda Ngom testified before a parliamentary inquiry regarding the ‘one student, one computer’ program. Ngom highlighted significant irregularities, stating the program operated outside the Public Procurement Code and the Code of Obligations, which he claims should render the project null and void.

Ngom reported that the program cost the Treasury approximately 6 billion FCFA annually without the knowledge of the Central Directorate of Public Procurement or the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Arcop). He noted that Arcop had previously identified numerous failings in the computer supply contracts and requested legal consequences be applied.

Regarding the distribution of funds, Ngom explained that 4.766 billion FCFA was paid to 19,064 students at Cheikh Hamidou Kane University, providing 250,000 FCFA each. He defended this as an exceptional, temporary measure to allow students to purchase computers before classes began, arguing it saved the state over 1 billion FCFA compared to direct procurement costs of 5.104 billion FCFA. Ngom stated he obtained authorization from the Minister of Finance before transferring the funds through the General Directorate of Scholarships.