By Arret Jatta
The audit manager at the BCC Abdoulie J Corr, yesterday alleged before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry the existence of an unretired imprest of D400,000 for the mayor.
Corr first made these allegations to investigators and was yesterday asked to explain it.
According to him, there was an internal audit report as at 2019 which highlighted the unretired imprest given to the mayor and when this was raised with CEO Mustapha Batchilly, he allegedly said it would have to be expunged from the books.
The witness said he refused to take the CEO’s instructions because that was against the rules of his job.
The witness also told the commission that he and other colleagues who were trying to tell the mayor the truth have been branded by her adviser to be ‘trying to stage a coup’.
At this point the Lead Counsel highlighted that there could not be a military coup in the local government set up.
‘The only thing possible and lawful is if councillors think a mayor or chairman should be impeached or removed from office. That will be on the only lawful way,” Counsel Gomez enlightened the witness.
“One needs to do what is right and not what is easy and I chose to do what is right and not what is easy,” the witness said.
“That is good Mr Corr and I think based on what we have, as you sit here, we don’t have anything against you yet. So you have all the right to say you have done what is right,” Lead Counsel Gomez commended the witness.
