By Makutu Manneh
Nfamara Saidykhan, the councilor of Jadumeh Ward in Kaing and a former member of Mansakonko Area Council’s Contracts Committee has informed the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that the company that supplied them with food stuff was never awarded the contract.
Councilor Saidykhan is currently the chairperson of the Finance Committee of the Mansakonko Area Council. The witness said he was a member of the contracts committee from May 2018 to May 2023.
“I only came to know about the contract with Nema-su Enterprise through this Local Government Commission. It was not discussed in any of our contracts committee meetings,” he said.
He testified that the company that was awarded was Jah Oil, but he was surprised to realise that the contract was given to Nema-su Enterprise.
“Jah Oil was awarded the contract by the contracts committee after our meeting. I don’t know how Nema-su Enterprise got the contract,” he said.
Saidykhan reiterated that Jah Oil was the company awarded the contract, adding that this information is captured in the minutes of the contract committee meeting. He provided the Commission with the minutes of the meeting and it was admitted into evidence.
The witness said Nema-su Enterprise was awarded the contract without passing through the contracts committee.
“This was very wrong and it went against due process,” the witness said.
He added: “We requested this information from the finance director, but he did not furnish us with any.”
On the auctioning of the council’s vehicles, Saidykhan said the general council unanimously agreed to do auction of the council’s vehicles, but that the vehicles were dispose without following due process. The witness said the vehicles were supposed to be auction but after the transaction he was displeased.
“We did not see evidence of the disposal and the way the disposal was done did not follow due process,” he said.
The witness said the finance committee wrote to the Finance Director and copied to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on 23 June 2020 requesting receipts of payments for the five (5) vehicles, but the Finance Director did not respond. He added that was the reason why he petitioned them at the the Local Government Service Commission. He testified that the Service Commission did not reply to him nor did they take steps towards what was requested.
He said the vehicles were two (2) Pajero, two (2) Toyata double cabin pickups and a Volvo vehicle.
Counsel Patrick Gomez told the witness that the evidence before the commission is that there was no public auction for the vehicles and some senior staff of the council purchased the vehicles. The witness replied that he did not have information regarding the sales of the vehicles.
“There were malpractices,” he said.
Counsel Gomez referred the witness to the minutes of the meeting which stated that the Finance Director purchased one of the vehicles for Seven Thousand Dalasi (D7,000). The witness confirmed it from the minutes of the meeting which he participated.
He was the councilor for Jadumeh Ward from May 2018 to May 2023 and he was re-elected for another four years.
