By Arret Jatta
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry yesterday confronted Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe and former Chief Executive Officer, Mustapha Batchilly, over donation practices at the Banjul City Council.
The inquiry heard that the council had expended millions of dalasis in support of various causes, including D279,550 for the 2021 city carnival. Batchilly and Lowe presented differing accounts of the decision-making process behind these donations.
“The request should have been forwarded to a committee to review and advise,” Batchilly said, adding that it was “improper” for the mayor to decide such amounts on her own.
In contrast, Lowe claimed that she continued with the culture she found at the council. When questioned about a voucher instructing Batchilly to pay D279,550, Lowe said, “We give them what their budget requested.”
However, Batchilly disagreed, stating that the system of decision-making was introduced by the mayor and was not part of the council’s culture.
“That was never the culture of the council. It was introduced by the mayor when she came,” Batchilly said.
The commission also examined payments made in the name of Fatou Mbenga, a former assistant public relations officer, on behalf of the mayor.
Batchilly described the payments as wrongful, while Lowe accepted liability for Mbenga’s actions, stating that Mbenga was simply an agent. “She did nothing wrong as she was simply an agent,” Lowe said.
The commission said its investigations also revealed that in March 2020, the BCC gave a woman and six of her children a donation prompting the audit director to write to the CEO seeking an audience to discuss the donation, arguing that BCC is not a charitable organisation.
However, Batchilly said he cannot remember meeting the director of internal audit regarding the matter.
Mayor Lowe said the CEO and the staff including the internal auditor and director of administration kept malice and they do not talk to each other.
She added that there was a mix-up in the management and this derailed her development plans.
“I found myself among men who work with me but they don’t talk to each other,” Lowe said.
But Batchilly countered that, saying he was in talking terms with the acting director of internal audit despite challenges and differences with him on issues.
Lead Counsel Gomez told the mayor that the issue of personal problems is not something the commission will look into.
“They don’t have to be friends but the work must continue. If they don’t talk and it affects the progress of the council, you need to forward it to the relevant committee for disciplinary action,” Gomez advised the mayor.
