GS1247 VPA 226 The Gambia Safe Water

Audit Analysis

The Gambia Safe Water project (GS1247 VPA 226) demonstrates VVB-verified additionality and a recently reassessed baseline, but is undermined by ten cross-document contradictions, extensive water-quality failures across boreholes, a 0% leakage deduction with inconsistent justification, and five open findings requiring action. The absence of a buffer pool and the project-specific baseline method limit confidence in permanence and baseline robustness.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Ten contradictions across documents, including ERR figures differing by 80% (36,083 vs 65,901) and leakage justification shifting from 'deemed negligible' to 'quantified' while the deduction dropped from 5% to 0%
• ⚠48 boreholes failed water-quality testing (coliforms) across 2021 quarters, raising questions about whether the project actually delivered safe water during the crediting period
• ⚠Five open findings (FAR 01–05) on SDG indicators, fNRB reporting, and monitoring justification remain unresolved
• ⚠Usage rate calculation error (95% corrected to 93.61%) and monitoring-period start-date inconsistency identified during verification

Credit Vintages