Makutu Manneh
Fatou Jobe, a rate and taxes collector for Brikama Area Council, has testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, explaining why she failed to deposit her 2020 collections into the council’s account.
The inquiry uncovered discrepancies in the council’s bank statements, showing Jobe has not been depositing her collections as required. Jobe admitted to handing her collections to Lamin Kantong Kanteh, the Principal Cashier of the council, instead of depositing them in the council’s Eco Bank and Vista Bank accounts.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez highlighted that the council had introduced digital machines for revenue collection in 2020, with all collectors instructed to deposit their collections in the council’s bank accounts. Jobe, however, stated she only began using the machine in 2021.
When questioned about her absence before the internal auditors of the council, Jobe initially claimed the machine usage exempted her from audits. She later confessed she decided to stop attending the audits.
“Sometimes I don’t go there [to the audit unit]. Sometimes if I go there I don’t find them there,” she admitted.
Jobe faced further scrutiny over an audit report for the second quarter of 2022, which implicated her in unaccounted funds totaling D5,700 between January and May 2022. Although she claimed to be unaware of the discrepancy, the cash book showed a receipt for D5630 from the Principal Cashier dated 19th June 2022. She explained there was no immediate requirement to collect receipts, and she did so only when visiting the council.
Counsel Gomez used the lodgment log of the Brikama Area Council to challenge her claims, noting that her absence from regular audits contradicted her testimony. The lodgment log documents weekly collections, dates, and signatures of auditors.
Jobe is set to reappear before the Commission to account for the missing funds.
