By Baba Sillah
The former mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council, Yankuba Colley, has revealed to the Janneh Commission that the opposition APRC never received funds or grants from KMC for its political activities.
Mr Colley who is also the former ruling party’s national mobiliser general, was summoned by the inquiry in connection with the refurbishment of the party bureau by Omar Malack and Sons Enterprise which contract he signed on behalf of the party.
According to him, the bureau belonged to the AMRC and APRC was occupying it until it was ejected last year.
He said the party refurbished the building to enable it to continue to use it but he could not ascertain whether the party was paying rent “since he was not part of the administration”.
Mr Colley said he did not know the source of funds for the contract but said he believed it was paid for by the party itself.
Colley however confirmed the contract costed D1.9 million and he signed it.
‘I don’t know the contractor at the time; it was Jammeh who identified the contractor, Omar Malack. I would not know where the contract was signed but I believed it was signed at the Office of the Secretary General,” Mr Colley explained.
He claimed that the party’s sources of funds were membership contributions and fundraising which he spearheaded.
Next, Omar Malack of Omar Malack and Sons Enterprise, a contractor and professional carpenter faced the commission to explain the contracts awarded to him by the office of the former president for the renovation of APRC bureau in Kanifing and the deputy governor’s residence in Mansakonko, Lower River Region.
Mr Malack told the inquiry that he was called by the then secretary general, Ousman Jammeh for the contracts.
According to him, the contract for the refurbishment of the APRC bureau was signed by Yankuba Colley on 8 June 2010 and the cost of the contract was D1.9 million which was funded by the Taiwanese government.
He said the contracts were executed and he produced the certificate of business registration and contract agreements to back his evidence which were admitted in evidence as exhibits.
Mr Malack told the inquiry that he had done other works for the office of the former president and his Farato Farms in 2009 which were funded by the former president himself.
Anthony Panetta a consultant for BPI Tourism and Services also appeared before the inquiry with regard to BPI and Westwood Company.
He said BPI is a registered Gambian company for the management of hotels, namely Ocean Bay and Sunbeach.
On the shares of Westwood Company, he said BPI owns 50% shares while Kanilai Family Farms owns the other 50%. He said he joined BPI in 2014, and that the former directors told him that they had directives from the office of the former president for Westwood Company to export timbers.
Sittings continue next week.
