By Makutu Manneh
Mr. Lamin Kanteh, the Principal Cashier and Lamin Suso, the former Finance Manager of Brikama Area Council, have jointly testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry about the Sixty Million Dalasi unpresented deposit slips on the 2019 Audit Report.
Out of this D60 Million Dalasi, Forty-four Million Dalasi of unpresented deposit slips was in the name of Lamin K. Kanteh, who testified on 17 April, 2024 that he handed over all this money to Lamin Suso, the finance manager and his supervisor.
Lamin Suso has previously testified before the commission as the finance director of Basse Area Council where various findings were made against him.
The 2019 audit report indicated that Kanteh, as the principal cashier of Brikama Area Council, was issuing receipts to revenue collectors but the auditors could not trace those monies in the council’s bank accounts.
When put to Lamin Suso while sitting beside Mr. Kanteh, he responded that Kanteh does not necessarily give him physical cash but Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez told him that Kanteh said that he gave him the physical cash.
Counsel Gomez asked Suso how he was able to do reconciliation with Kanteh when there were no deposit slips.
Suso said deposit slips are available, saying that the commission should look into the bank statement.
Counsel Gomez told Suso that the auditor’s report indicated that out of the D60 Million Dalasi collected by council; only 16 Million was traced while the D44 Million Dalasi was untraceable.
“Mr. Kanteh, you told the commission yesterday that you gave the money to Suso during your reconciliation with him,” Gomez asked.
Kanteh replied that after the reconciliation he left with Suso, adding: “Truly, I gave the money to Suso including vouchers and deposit slips.”
Kanteh further informed the commissioners that Suso gave him the money for safe-keeping after he handed it to him (Suso).
Counsel Gomez told him that was a later arrangement between the two of them, but that he gave the money to Lamin Suso.
When Suso was confronted again, he said he took responsibility for the D44 Million because Kanteh was under his supervision.
However, he said these monies are not understood because the references are there. He was asked to provide evidence which he said he will.
“This is your problem, you always say evidence is available and you will provide them even when you were testifying here as the Finance Director of Basse Area Council, you said the same thing but still you did not provide any of the evidence,” Counsel Gomez put to him. However, Suso did not respond to this.
Counsel Gomez told him that he does not have any authority to supervise the cashier nor the authority to collect monies from him as the law indicated that the cashier should deposit these monies to the bank.
At this juncture, Jainaba Bah, Chairperson of the Commission, asked Suso why the 2019 GTR numbers were all the same.
“I don’t understand, I don’t know why,” Suso responded.
Chairperson Bah further asked him how it was true that he does reconciliation with Kanteh if he does not know anything about the GTR numbers.
He said he cannot ascertain these numbers, saying “this is a typing error”.
The chair further insisted: “Don’t go there, this is not a typing error. If you move to page 50 from 5th April, 2019 to 8 August, 2019 all the GTR numbers are the same.”
Suso then replied that he does not understand those GTRs.
