By Arret Jatta
Pa Fansu Darboe, the former chief executive officer of the Kuntaur Area Council (KAC), admitted to bypassing procurement regulations, approving unlawful financial practices, and inflating budget figures during his testimony before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry yesterday.
Darboe told the commission that he authorised revenue collectors to make payments directly from their collections before depositing funds in the bank, which is a violation of financial regulations.
He justified the practice by citing the council’s distance from the bank and the urgency of some expenses but admitted he knew it was unlawful at the time.
Commission chairwoman Jainaba Bah challenged Darboe on budget discrepancies, noting that KAC had projected revenue of D17 million in one year despite collecting only D6 million the previous year which Darboe admitted that the figures were deliberately inflated.
“We put amounts in the budget just to comply with the 60% requirement. The budget is unrealistic,” he said.
Pressed further, he acknowledged: “The estimations there are very incorrect. We did that just to comply with the law. We know we cannot collect that.”
Mr Darboe also told the commission that council chairman Saihou Jawara participated in the contracts committee despite regulations barring such an involvement.
He further disclosed that contracts were often awarded without competitive bidding, with the chairman handpicking contractors.
“The chairman would bring a contractor to us and tell us that he is good for the job. Then we single source the contract to the person,” Darboe narrated.
“You were not following the procurement processes,” Lead Counsel Gomez pressed.
“Yes,” Darboe admitted.
He also told the commission that that KAC’s revenue base grew from D3 million when he took office to D7 million by the time he left, stating that prior, the council had one vehicle but he bought three vehicles by the time he retired at the council.
