By Makutu Manneh
In a revealing testimony before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, Mamadi Camara, the procurement officer for Kuntaur Area Council, admitted that not all procurement processes at the council go through his office, raising concerns about irregularities in financial oversight.
Camara, responding to questions from Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez, acknowledged his involvement in some procurement activities but not all.
“Yes, some, but not all,” he said. “I did not write to complain about this, but I did complain about it verbally.”
Pressed further, Camara said he did not know why certain procurements bypassed his office, but had raised concerns directly with the council.
“Since they are the ones who sent me for training, any procurement the council conducts should go through my office,” he told the commission.
He said in 2021, the council began assigning him procurement responsibilities, including fuel allocation and the procurement of office furniture. However, he alleged the council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) often made procurement decisions independently. “He decides what to procure, when to procure, and how much,” Camara stated.
A Flawed Procurement Process
Camara detailed the procurement process at Kuntaur Area Council: When a department submits a request, it is forwarded to the CEO, who then refers it to the director of finance to assess the availability of funds. The finance director subsequently passes the request to the procurement unit for specifications and advice.
Counsel Gomez challenged this practice, asserting that it was a violation of standard procurement procedures.
“That is the wrong procedure,” Gomez stated. “You have to refer every procurement to the contracts committee. They make the decision on the method of procurement to be used. It is the committee’s decision—not the CEO’s.”
When asked about meetings of the procurement committee, Camara recalled just one instance—discussions about drilling boreholes in three villages where a restricted tender process had been used for the project. This prompted Counsel Gomez to question why an open bidding process had not been employed given the number of companies engaged in borehole drilling.
“We saw that those contractors had done many borehole drillings for us,” Camara responded. “So before we gave the contract to others, we had to give it to them.”
Camara submitted documents related to the borehole contracts, but was directed to provide the commission with a complete procurement file covering 2018 to 2023, along with procurement plans and monthly reports.
A Procurement Officer Without Certification
Camara told the commission he began working at Kuntaur Area Council as a generator operator before being promoted to acting procurement officer in 2008, despite lacking any formal qualifications in procurement. He later completed a three-month attachment at Kanifing Municipal Council in 2009 and obtained a certificate in procurement in 2020. He is currently pursuing a diploma in procurement. Notably, Camara remains the sole staff member in the council’s procurement unit.
Administrative Gaps and a Lack of Financial Oversight
A second witness, Aminata Ndongo, the former administrative officer of Kuntaur Area Council and now acting director of administration at Brikama Area Council, testified about the council’s internal structures and financial operations.
Ndongo, who joined the council in 2008 as a secretary, said her duties included assisting the CEO with administrative tasks, writing correspondence on his behalf, and occasionally chairing meetings. She said the council had three committees—finance, development, and establishment—and in 2024, an audit committee was added on the recommendation of the Ministry of Finance.
She also revealed that Kuntaur Area Council did not have a designated cashier.
“These roles are handled by the finance department under the directives of the director of finance,” she said, adding that due to the council’s small revenue base, staff members often took on multiple roles.
When asked whether multitasking within the finance department complied with accounting regulations, Ndongo admitted that the lack of a cashier was improper.
The inquiry continues as the commission seeks to unravel procurement irregularities and governance lapses at Kuntaur Area Council.
