By Arret Jatta
Hadijatou Jambang, a revenue collector at Banjul City Council (BCC), yesterday testified at the local Government Commission of Inquiry on the fate of the D176,000 queried by auditors on suspicion that it might have been suppressed from two transactions, D41,000 and D135 , 000 respectively.
She told the enquiry that in the case of the D41,000, she had closed late from collection on 11 November 2022, and since she did not find the cashier at the office, she decided to take the money home until the next day.
She further explained that when she got home, the former director of finance Mr Momodou Camara called to ask if she had not done any collection and she replied that she indeed collected money but finding the cashier gone, she had decided to go home with it until the next day.
”Mr Camara then asked me to take the money to him for keeping. Since he is my boss I agreed with him because the money was not safe in my house anyway. I gave him the D41,000 and he gave me D400,” the witness told the enquiry.
Asked if she was issued a receipt, the witness replied in the negative, explaining that the transaction was not recorded in her cash book,
“Mr Camara just brought out a piece of paper, wrote my name, pulled out D400 from the money and told me that the cashier, Agie Fatou ,will issue me a receipt the next day,” she replied.
Asked if she was eventually issued any receipt, the witness responded in the nagetive.
The witness said when she asked the cahier for a receipt the next day, she was told to go to the person she handed the money to, for her receipt.
Asked if she made inquiries with Mr Camara about the receipt, the witness said when she went to see him, he was busy.
Deputy Lead Counsel Camara also told the witness that she should have followed up with the finance director for the receipt.
The witness replied that she was served a memo in February 2022 which stated that she had suppressed council’s revenue.
“Upon seeing this memo, what did you do,” Counsel Camara asked.
“I went straight to Mr Camara I told him that I have seen my name linked to suppression of council revenue and he told me to go and sit down he will pay the money,” she said.
She further testified that after going back to her office, she was called by the mayor who wanted to know why she gave Mr Camara the money without a receipt because Camara has denied receiving that money.
She added that the next day when she came to work, she saw a receipt attached to her cashbook and was told by the cashier that Camara has paid the D41,000,
On the other suspected suppression case involving D135,000, the witness was asked to explain her statement that the cashier did not enter those receipts in her cashbook, “I only realiise the omission when I was served with a memo.”
However, according to the witness, the issue of that suppression was later resolved because it was a simple case of the cashier forgetting to enter it.
