By Arret Jatta
The chairman of Mansa Konko Area Council, Landing B Sanneh, testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, shedding light on the council’s handling of Covid-19 funds and food relief programmes.
Sanneh explained that a taskforce account was established to generate revenue and support the community during the pandemic and it had nothing to do with council’s revenue.
“With the advent of Covid, my office, myself in particular, initiated that we will need to have a task force that will work on mobilising resources to support our people in the area. And that is aside from the revenue that is generated by the council,” he explained.
Sanneh claimed that the funds were donations from outside bodies, including the Israeli Embassy, and not council funds.
However, Lead Counsel Gomez argued that donations form part of the council’s revenue. “You had a taskforce because you have an institution, the Area Council. Whether you do this individually without following due process, you are still acting on behalf of the council. That makes it a council initiative,” Gomez said, emphasising that the council couldn’t exclude itself from the taskforce.
The council’s procurement practices were also called into question. Nema-Su, a supplier, was paid over D1 million for food aid, but Sanneh admitted to overpayment of more than D100,000, with further calculations revealing a difference of over D400,000.
Sanneh said: “I was only there ceremonially,” when asked about his role in signing cheques for the Covid-19 account.
The council’s financial management practices were also criticised for lacking transparency and accountability.
