By Arret Jatta
Three officials from Banjul City Council (BCC), yesterday testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, revealing alleged financial mismanagement and conflict of interest in the management of the Banjul City Council -EU project.
One of them, Sandigie Njie, Administrative Manager, revealed that members of the EU project’s steering committee with ‘close links’ to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), were allegedly engaged in a scheme to increase their personal benefits.
He noted that the people implementing the project were the same ones overseeing it. “That is not right and it is a very serious issue,” Mr Njie asserted.
He further alleged that the EU project was used as an opportunity for some people at the council to ‘extort’ money as could be seen in the increment of their allowances.
Mr Njie reported that two staff members, field coordinator Buba Camara and accountant Ndey I Touray, had to resign under suspicious circumstances including a falling out with the CEO and members of the steering committee, suggesting overlapping interests.
He said there are a lot of unanswered questions about how this project was handled, adding that even auditors had flagged concerns, and he personally wrote to the CEO regarding the matter but his letters were ignored.
The witness further told the commission that Kebba and Sons, a private company, was the near-exclusive beneficiary of procurement contracts for the EU project, raising suspicion about favouritism and lack of due process.
Another BCC official, Yusupha Jallow, Acting Director of Administration alleged that some staff members were hired directly by the mayor without formal procedures.
Asked what steps has he himself took to address issues of maladministration and corrupt practices, the witness said he had written to the CEO about the issue.
Asked about the appointment of one Binta Conteh, the witness explained that Binta is the secretary of the mayor and she was one of the people that the mayor came with to the council in 2018.
He also testified that members of staff were benefiting from personal loans and that he himself benefited from it twice.
Lead Counsel Gomez told him that he should have finished paying his first loan before taking another one, but the witness said the second loan was urgent.
