By Arret Jatta
Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda yesterday appeared before the LG Commission to explain his council’s handling of the allegations of impropriety against his deputy and the chief executive officer.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez wanted to know more about the different approaches taken by the KMC in the cases of the two officials.
The enquiry revealed that the council placed the CEO, Sainabou Martin Sonko on administrative leave due to concerns about her actions.
Asked why the CEO was placed on administrative leave, Mayor Bensouda responded: “We got legal advice that it was within our authority to do so. The CEO is subject to the direction and control of the council, and we felt that it was necessary to take action”.
“But wasn’t the CEO’s matter handled by the Local Government Service Commission,” Counsel Gomez asked.
The mayor replied that they were advised that they had the power to make administrative directives in relation to placing the CEO on leave.
In the case of Deputy Mayor Musa Bah, Bensouda said allegations of bribery were reported, but the council’s investigation was taken over by the parent ministry.
“Unlike the case of the CEO where we had documentary evidence and a confession, we did not have enough evidence in the case of the deputy mayor and in any case the ministry took over the investigations,” Bensouda said.
Asked if he had made any recommendations to the LG Service Commission regarding the deputy mayor’s case, Mayor Bensouda said he didn’t, adding that the committee was handling the matter, and then the ministry took over the investigation.
When asked why the deputy mayor resigned shortly after the allegations, Bensouda replied that the official had cited personal reasons, including the death of his uncle and mother. I’m not sure what was in his mind, but that’s the excuse he gave,” the mayor told the enquiry.
Asked if they could have done more to investigate the allegations, given the seriousness of the issue, the mayor replied that they did what they could, but the ministry took over the investigation. “Given the complexity of the issue, it was best for them to handle it”, he said.
