By Makutu Manneh
Mustapha Joof, the Acting Valued Property Manager of the Brikama Area Council has on Monday, 25 March denied allegation that he suppressed council’s revenue during his time as a revenue collector.
The Internal Audit Report of the Council made adverse findings against him as he was found to have suppressed revenue amounting to over two hundred thousand dalasi.
The Internal Auditor Unit of the Council in its 2020 report indicated that the witness suppressed an amount of Two Hundred and Forty-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty-One Dalasi, Eighty-Nine Butut (D248,421.89). He denied this allegation saying he deposited all the funds in the accounts of the Brikama Area Council. He was informed about the audit finding that he used to collect money and not deposit it. The witness denied this saying he deposited his collections.
“I disputed this because I don’t condone cash suppression,” the witness said.
The witness said his collections were audited by the internal auditor Unit of the Council and he was issued receipts by the Principal Cashier of the Council.
The witness was shown the lodgment roll, which is a record of revenue collectors who come for reconciliation at the Internal Audit Unit. The lodgment records showed that the witness does not go for weekly reconciliation.
The witness provided his cash book covering the periods 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 on valued properties. It was tendered and admitted in evidence. He was asked to provide the other cash book containing information about his collections after this period. He promised to bring it today to the Commission.
He will reappear before the Commission for further questioning.
The witness is a resident of Brikama Kabifita. He started working in the Brikama Area Council on 31st March 2009 as a revenue collector. The written statement of the witness dated 8th November 2023 was admitted in evidence by the Commission.
The witness said his Unit is responsible for coordinating and supervising value property rates collectors to ensure that revenues are collected and deposited in the BAC accounts by collectors. On his responsibility as the Manager, the witness said he is responsible for ensuring that collectors bank all their collections in the BAC accounts and do reconciliation every Thursday with the Internal Audit Unit by tendering their bank slips for verification.
In 2018, he was posted in Bijilo as a valued property collector and he was promoted as the Acting Value Property Manager from 1st July 2021. He said he has fourteen (14) collectors under him.
