By Makutu Manneh
Alieu Sanneh, a revenue collector working for the Brikama Area Council has admitted before members of the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that he had suppressed revenues of the Council.
The witness, who was questioned about the sum of D164,600 contained in an audit query made against him by auditors, said the audit finding against him was true.
“I was suffering and I told the Council about my pain. The Council did not say anything. I later used the money to spend it on myself,” the witness answered.
“Are you saying you used the whole money on yourself?” Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez asked.
“Yes,” the witness said, adding:“I do not think I spent D164,600.”
At this juncture, two letters were tendered and admitted in evidence, which were both from the Council and addressed to the witness concerning the revenue he suppressed. Other documents attached to the letters included the Internal Audit Unit Report against him and the report of an independent finding against him.
The witness said he agreed to some of the findings against him, but said he wrote back to dispute some of the findings. He testified that he misplaced the letter he wrote to them.
“You agreed to the D145,650 finding against you,” Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez told the witness.
“It is about five years now and I cannot recall,” the witness said.
“Instead of D130,000 you have in fact agreed to D145,600,” Counsel Gomez said.
Counsel Gomez put it to the witness that he was the one who wrote back to the Council admitting that the suppressed amount was D145,600.
“Is that not true?” Gomez asked.
“Yes, that is true. I agree,” the witness answered.
The witness claimed that his cash books were all with the Council.
“I do not have any of my cash books. They are all with the Council,” the witness said.
“Have you paid this money?” Gomez asked.
“I have started paying it,” the witness said.
“How much did you pay and how are you paying?” Gomez asked.
“I paid D50,000 in 2021 on 1st January. I paid to the Finance Director and I was given a receipt,” the witness said.
The witness said he was never given sick leave after sustaining the injury from the 2013 accident, adding that he was still paid his salary while sitting at home.
“In 2019, that was when these fraudulent issues were raised. The allegation was that the names and addresses in the original and the duplicate differed. Is that true?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
“Yes, that is correct,” the witness said.
“Why did you do that?” Gomez asked.
“It was something undue,” the witness said.
“I do not understand. What do you mean?” Gomez asked.
The witness replied that he used the money because of the condition he was in, but he knew it was wrong.
“Mr Sanneh, I appreciate your honesty. We are concerned about the deceit, fraud and other things that happened in the Brikama Area Council,” Gomez told the witness.
The witness said he did not have cash books for the years 2018, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
“Why?” Gomez asked.
“It is because I was not doing service for the Council,” he said.
The witness said he sat at home for five years without doing any work for the council, yet he was paid his salary. When pressed to provide the specific dates, the witness said since the early months of 2020 to date.
“From 2020 to date you have not returned to work,” Chairperson Jainaba Bah asked the witness.
“Yes,” the witness answered.
The witness claimed that he used to deposit all his collections in the Eco Bank account of the Council.
He was given the account statement from Eco Bank to show his deposits. The witness claimed that he has vision deficiency and left his eyeglasses home. Lead Counsel Gomez made an application for the bank statement to be copied and given to the witness to take home.
“You will take it home and provide us the details of the deposits you have made in that account,” Gomez told the witness.
The application was granted. The witness testified further that he had the accident in February 2013 and resumed work in 2015. He explained that in 2018, he worked briefly before staying at home when his leg began disturbing him.
He said he began working at the Council in 2004 and in 2018, he worked with the Valued-property Unit of the BAC and was deployed to Brusibi. He testified that his written statement was not accurate in this respect because he had indicated that he used to cover from Bullock to Kalaji.
Sitting continues.
