By Mustapha Ceesay
CLAIM: “Gambia Ports Authority is taking in staff to fill available positions”
SOURCE: Gmabia Recruitment Blog (Warning: site link infected with url scam)
VERDICT: FALSE
A job advertisement calling for applications to fill in available vacant positions at the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) is making the rounds on various social media platforms.
It has been shared on numerous WhatsApp platforms with a large followership. One of those platforms is that of students of the University of The Gambia with more than 200 members.
The call for application titled “Gambia Ports Authority is taking in staff to fill available positions”, which claimed to attract no cost, encouraged interested applicants to file in their applications through a portal link (warning: site link infected with url scam according to Avast Anitvirus) stated in the call.
“The Gambia Ports Authority has opened an application portal to recruit new Staff to fill available positions. Recruitment has started and some candidates have been selected. Don’t miss this great opportunity,” the call stated.
Findings
A research on the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) Facebook page did not show any content that matched the viral and purported call for application. However, a Facebook post by the Gambia Ports Authority on 21st August, 2024 described the recruitment exercise as “fake”.
The post dissociated the GPA from the recruitment notice stating, “The Authority has an established recruitment system and procedure and does not run/outsource any online recruitment service”.
The call is not dated. It has neither a deadline for applications, nor contact details for inquiries or follow-ups. It did not state the available positions being advertised and the specification, description or responsibilities of the available positions. There are no criteria stated for applying the available positions.
The portal link indicated in the job notice leads to an application form (see photo above). The information on top of the form is a GPA seal, a background photo of a seaport with a large vessel loaded with containers and some container lifting equipment.
This is followed by an instruction urging applicants to fill out in the form certain personal information to proceed with the application. The information include title, name, phone number and email address, then the submission of the application.
A scam
Based on the research by FactCheck Gambia, the claim that the “Gambia Ports Authority is currently recruiting new staff to fill available positions” is FAKE and a SCAM targeting Gambian WhatsApp users.
