By Yankuba Jallow
Sheriffo Sonko, who served as Chairman of the Brikama Area Council (BAC) from May 2018 to May 2023, has come under scrutiny before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry over a controversial revenue digitization contract with 5C Energy and a series of procurement and financial management lapses during his tenure.
Testifying on the 5C Energy deal, the witness revealed that revenue collection at BAC was low when he assumed office, with multiple leakages reported. In response, he said, 5C Energy was introduced to the council by Sheriffo Sonko, who is now a nominated councillor at the BAC. The witness said Sonko facilitated a meeting between the company and council authorities.
As part of the engagement, 5C Energy sponsored a trip to Dubai for him, then-CEO Mam Sait Jallow, and IT Officer Alieu Badou Jeng. “Sheriffo Sonko was there for the company,” he said, adding that while in Dubai, they were taken on a tour to see how the digital revenue system operated, and they were impressed. The witness said he left for Belgium afterward, while the CEO and other officials returned to The Gambia.
The Commission heard that in 2019, BAC set the baseline for its digital revenue collection at D68 million. However, Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez pointed out that in 2018, the council had generated D70 million, questioning why a lower figure was used.
“That is right. The baseline was wrong,” the witness admitted.
“No, you were there to create revenue for someone to make money from the council,” Gomez charged.
“I did not know the baseline for 2018 at the time,” the witness responded.
But Gomez disagreed, stressing it was the duty of the witness and the council to provide an accurate baseline, and that setting it lower unfairly benefited 5C Energy.
Gomez further noted that from 2018 to 2020, the council’s revenue had always been over D70 million as he provided the witness with the documents showing the revenue base of the BAC. The witness said: “Honestly, I don’t see this. It was based on the advice of the CEO.” He added that the contract was approved in a council meeting and sent to the Ministry of Justice for legal review. The Commission has requested the legal opinion from the Ministry.
Turning to procurement procedures, Gomez accused the witness and council of flouting procurement laws.
“Why was this not subjected to the acceptable procurement processes?” he asked.
“There was no procurement process followed,” the witness admitted.
“It was new, and we were all excited to bring this to the BAC to maximize the revenue,” he added, saying he didn’t know it should have gone through a procurement process and was not advised by the CEO.
“It was later that I know,” the witness said. “At the time, I did not know that this should be subjected to procurement.”
The agreement between the council and 5C Energy stipulated a 50-50 revenue share for amounts collected above the baseline for 2 years. Gomez argued that the lower the baseline, the more profit the company would earn.
“I understand you,” the witness said.
“You should have asked the CEO and the finance director to get the correct baseline for the revenue,” Gomez told him. The witness responded that he had, and they were the ones who gave him the figure. Gomez, however, emphasized that the witness oversaw and completed the procurement process without any open tender or competition because he first met the company, travelled to Dubai and then signed the agreement.
The contract with 5C Energy was signed by the witness and former CEO Mam Sait Jallow on behalf of BAC, while Ba Kutubo Sillah signed on behalf of the company. When shown a copy of the contract by the Commission, the witness could not find the baseline figure in the document. He promised to bring another copy which he said contains the baseline.
Another clause in the contract stated that the company invested $3.5 million. The witness said that was a mistake: “I think they wanted to put Dalasi instead of Dollar.” Gomez disagreed, insisting that the contract was written, reviewed, and signed—and the figure represented over D120 million. Despite this, the witness maintained it was an error.
Attempting to distance himself from procurement violations, the witness said the Dubai trip, funded by 5C Energy, occurred before negotiations began. However, after a series of questions from Gomez, he admitted the violations.
The Commission also examined a terminated road construction contract with Gigo, valued at over D9 million. Gigo claimed to have received just over D5 million, but former CEO Modou Jonga stated that Gigo was paid over D6 million. The witness claimed ignorance of the payments. When Gomez read provisions of the Financial Manual for Local Government Councils, the witness acknowledged his failure to authorize payments as required by law.
“It was a failure on my part for not adhering to the financial laws,” he admitted, explaining that he didn’t know he had the authority to approve payments.
On another matter, the council purchased eight trucks from 5C Energy—five compactor trucks and three trucks with skip bins—reportedly worth D12.5 million. The witness acknowledged that the purchase did not follow procurement regulations and that the company procured the trucks without BAC’s specifications. He stated that the CEO had the documentation for the trucks and agreed that the method of procurement was wrong.
He was asked to provide the contract documents relating to the truck purchase.
