By Makutu Manneh
Momodou Camara, a former finance director and member of the Steering Committee overseeing the Banjul-Ostend EU project on Monday testified that hiring at the council did not follow formal recruitment procedures. Instead, he said, appointments were often based on political loyalty or personal connections to the Mayor [Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe]. “There is no recruitment process in the council,” he stated. “If they feel you don’t belong, they will bully you, sideline you.”
Camara painted a picture of a council marred by internal divisions and power struggles, where those seen as opponents to the Mayor’s agenda were isolated or forced out. He cited the case of Sandigie Njie, who was allegedly marginalized because he was not viewed as supportive of the Mayor. In one case, a non-staff individual was reportedly brought in to take minutes of official meetings—an irregularity Camara said underscored the erosion of professionalism within the institution.
Despite the introduction of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), a government-wide accounting platform, Camara testified that implementation at the BCC has been minimal. “The councils are about 15% compliant,” he said, attributing the lack of progress to staffing and capacity issues. He further claimed that some top staff had risen through the ranks from timekeeping roles without understanding the legal frameworks they were expected to implement.
While IFMIS was described by Camara as “a very effective system,” he acknowledged that poor internet connectivity often forced staff to revert to manual record-keeping—a fallback he said was “acceptable” under the circumstances.
Camara leveled serious accusations against Mayor Lowe, saying she regularly bypassed standard financial procedures, including personally taking overdrafts from banks without proper authorization. He said the governance structure at the council was “dead,” with no functioning administrative department and little oversight.
“She was the Mayor. She was the CEO. She was the Director of Finance. She was doing everything,” he said, asserting that the Mayor often usurped the authority of other officials. The former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mustapha Batchilly, was portrayed as ineffective and subservient, requiring the Mayor’s approval to take decisions.
According to Camara, he was once arrested in his office by a group of 11 police officers for refusing to hand over council revenue books. He claimed the books were intended to be passed on to a junior finance officer, which he opposed. “Over my dead body,” he recalled telling officers before he was detained. He stated he was never formally told the reason for his arrest.
The Banjul-Ostend project, a £3.1 million European Union-funded initiative, became another focal point of Camara’s testimony. He disclosed that during festive seasons like Tobaski or Koriteh, members of the project’s Steering Committee—including himself—received personal loans of D33,000 each, a practice he admitted was “not a good one.” Though he argued the money was drawn from an emergency budget line, Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez challenged the legality and ethicality of such payments.
Camara stated that after these loans were disbursed, the Steering Committee was abruptly disbanded by the Mayor. “I was removed from the Steering Committee because I wanted to do my job,” he said.
He revealed that he had refused to sign a D900,000 cheque for “visibility” expenses, questioning the justification and requesting supporting documentation. When he declined, the CEO reportedly attempted to pressure him. “The following week, the Steering Committee was disbanded. They coined a new Steering Committee,” Camara testified.
Camara produced several memos and correspondences supporting his claims, which were admitted as evidence. In one memo, the Mayor instructed him not to copy the Ostend team in communications—an instruction Camara suggested was aimed at concealing the council’s internal issues from the EU partner city.
The former finance director also highlighted a procurement transaction involving D2.5 million paid to Gidda Trading for personal protective equipment. He testified that Gidda’s owner was a close associate of the Mayor, and while he eventually signed the cheque, he did so only after securing written authorization from the CEO.
Further correspondence, including a memo from Mayor Lowe dated February 8, 2022, was introduced into the record. The memo discouraged Camara from sharing internal information with Ostend officials. “I did not reply to that memo. I have suffered enough at BCC,” he said.
In a series of escalating tensions, Camara alleged that Mayor Lowe tried to send him on administrative leave through a resolution signed by a group of councillors aligned with her. However, councillor Sheikh Jaw reportedly refused to endorse the resolution, suspecting political motives.
“The CEO is possessed. He does not act independently,” Camara remarked bluntly, adding that the BCC’s administrative staff were poorly trained and mismanaged. He noted that the council was frequently involved in legal battles, which cost taxpayers in legal fees.
Camara claimed the finance department was reduced to a “skeleton staff,” comprising just two employees when he assumed office. Missing vouchers and incomplete financial records greeted him, he said.
Describing the depth of patronage, Camara pointed out that Macumba Sanneh, the Mayor’s close adviser and a Grade 9 school dropout, was made overseer of the revenue and licensing units—positions requiring financial acumen and public accountability. “Wherever revenue is, Macumba is there, serving the interest of the Mayor,” he said.
He presented a copy of a three-month contract awarded to Bakawsu Kanyi, along with other memos detailing instances of staff proceeding on duties without authorization and the involvement of the police in internal council matters.
In one procurement case, he said Kebba and Sons was awarded a D13.8 million contract prior to his tenure. Another contract worth D11 million was given to Fatima Trading for the supply of 5,700 bins. When the council allegedly sought to reassign the contract to Kebba and Sons, Fatima Trading resisted, citing proof of shipment and warning of potential penalties. Camara submitted related correspondence between Fatima Trading, their legal counsel, and the council.
Reflecting on the state of the council, Camara delivered a sobering verdict: “The system has a problem, and it will take somebody very committed and brave to fix it.”
To be continued.
