By Makutu Manneh
Pa Modou Ndow, the acting Licence Manager of Banjul City Council (BCC), was ordered by the Local Government Commission of Inquiry to provide proof that large deposits made into his personal bank account were not sourced from council funds.
Ndow, who has worked at BCC for seven years and currently earns a salary of D20,000, has already informed the commission that he does not own any businesses. His bank statements, presented by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez, show numerous large deposits between 2020 and 2022. Among them were deposits such as D20,000 on February 10, 2020, D100,000 on February 17, 2020, D80,000 on February 24, 2020, and D140,000 on March 16, 2020. Other sizable deposits were made later in the subsequent year, with the largest being D69,600 in March 2021. There were many other deposits.
When questioned, Ndow explained that some of these funds came from his sister, who had returned to The Gambia in 2019 after being absent since 2002. According to Ndow, his sister was involved in construction and left a significant amount of money for him to deposit. The money, he claimed, was in pounds and, when converted to dalasi, amounted to at least D500,000, though he could not recall the precise total.
“My sister has not been in The Gambia since 2002. She came in 2019 and was involved in construction work. She left me with a substantial amount of money, which I was asked to exchange and deposit,” Ndow explained.
However, Counsel Gomez pressed Ndow on why he did not deposit the full amount in one go, to which Ndow responded that converting the money to dalasi had been problematic. Gomez dismissed this reasoning, stating that it did not make sense and that Ndow has to provide tangible evidence to back his claims.
“Millions of dalasi have been deposited into your account, and you are an acting license manager in charge of revenue collection. You must prove where this money is coming from,” Gomez insisted.
Ndow assured the commission that he would be able to provide supporting documents for remittances sent to him, promising to submit the necessary proof that the funds were not connected to council revenue. The commission, in turn, directed him to supply detailed evidence for all deposits in question.
In another related testimony, Fatou Joof, a suspended BCC revenue collector, addressed an inquiry into an alleged revenue shortfall of D22, 400. Joof explained that she had paid the sum to the council’s cashier, Oumie Darbo, and presented a receipt as evidence.
“When I collected the money on September 29th, I went to the audit office and then to cashier Oumie Darbo, who issued a receipt, which is recorded in my cash book,” Joof testified.
Joof submitted the cash book along with the receipt to the commission, clarifying that the issue had been resolved once the auditors reviewed her documentation. She believes that her suspension was linked to this query, stating, “I can’t see any other reason for my suspension.” Counsel Sunkary Camara read the audit finding that Joof had paid the money and was left with only an outstanding fee of 100 dalasi. Despite providing receipts, Joof was not recalled to work and she is still sitting at home.
The commission has vowed to continue its investigation into both Ndow and Joof’s actions as part of an ongoing effort to uncover potential financial misconduct at the Banjul City Council.
