By Makutu Manneh
Mbanyick J. Sonko, a sub treasurer of Kerewan Area Council and Babou Ndour, Market Manager of Mansakonko Area Council have both confirmed to the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that they used to deposit monies into Ex-CEO Seedy K. Touray’s personal account.
Seedy K. Touray was the Chief Executive Officer of Kerewan Area Council and was later moved to Mansakonko Area Council as the Chief Executive Officer.
Mbanyick J. Sonko, a sub treasurer of Kerewan Area Council has informed the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that Seedy K. Touray former Chief Executive Officer of the council used to give him huge amount of monies in different occasions to deposit for him in his Trust Bank Account.
He told the commission he does not know where Touray used to get those monies from and stands firm on his word that he has never given the CEO the council’s money or deposit it in his account.
“Seedy k Touray will give me the money to deposit for him in his own account but not that I will be the one to collect money and deposit it in his account directly,” he said.
Chairperson Jainaba told the witness that he has deposited almost two million dalasis into Seedy Touray’s account but the witness argued that he deposited about One Hundred and Ninety-Three Thousand Dalasi.
“Now I am putting it to you that this figure you gave us is more than …… you have deposited into Seedy’s account,” the chairperson said.
Sonko said sometimes he met with Touray at Barra where he would collect money from him and deposit it into his account at Trust Bank Barra branch.
It was noted at the commission that Sonko was a revenue collector when he was depositing various huge amount of monies into his former boss’ account.
Council Patrick Gomez told the witness that in 2018 and 2019, he made a huge deposit into his boss’s account and he has not provided his cashbooks to show he was not depositing the revenue monies he collected.
Council Gomez further quizzed, “How will we know these are not the revenues you collected.”
The witness maintained that he never gave physical cash or deposit council’s money into Touray’s account.
However, he informed the commission that sometimes the CEO or Finance Director would call him to make some payments with the revenue he collected or would send someone to collect the revenue money from him.
When asked by Counsel Gomez if Seedy Touray has any other job, he replied that he knew that CEO Touray has a compound in Essau which he rents out.
He said he is the one who is managing that rental compound for the CEO and normally collects the rental monies and deposit them into the CEO’s account which is about D6000 a month.
Counsel Gomez told him that such amount does not still add up to the amounts he deposited into Touray’s account because in some months he deposited D13, 000, D40, 000, D12, 000 and D70, 000 respectively.
Counsel Gomez told the witness Touray could have simply gone to the bank and deposited his money himself because at Barra where he used to give him the money is not far from the Trust Bank.
He agreed that Touray could have deposited this money himself.
When asked by Chairperson Jainaba Bah to provide deposit slips of the monies he deposited for Touray.
He said he could not because he does not have them, “am sorry Maa I don’t think I can provide that.”
The chairperson told him “there must be evidence. you must give us evidence so that we will know it is not the taxpayers’ money.”
The chairperson further put to him that if it will be correct to assume that part of those monies he deposited into Seedy’s account are taxpayers’ money.
The witness replied “Yes it can be because he gave me the money to deposit.”
Babou Ndour, Market Manager of Mansakonko Area Council has also testified that he received cash on three occasions from a tractor driver of the Mansakonko Area Council and he then deposited the money in the personal account of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the council. When asked who the CEO was, the witness said the CEO was Seedy Touray.
“The job you are supposed to do is to collect money on behalf of the council and deposit it in the council’s accounts,” Counsel Patrick Gomez said.
The Counsel asked the witness why he participated in the mismanagement of the revenue of the council.
“What were you doing with the money?” Counsel Gomez asked.
The witness could not provide an answer to the question.
