By: Nyima Sillah
Lawyers of the Kanifing Municipal Council have been told to look into the legitimacy of the state yet-to-establish Commission of Inquiry whose mandate is to look into the alleged corruption scandal of the council.
This comes days after the Ministry of Local Government announced setting up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate Kanifing Municipal Council on the alleged fraud and malpractices dated back from 2018.
However, KMC reacted to the Ministry’s action with unreserved disappointment, saying the action of the Minister is counterproductive to the development agenda of the council as well to undermine the council’s firm stance against corruption.
“Council further considers the Commission of Inquiry of the Ministry to have been instituted in bad faith and in abuse of his power under the Act. Furthermore, the council considers the terms of reference of the purported commission to be outside the scope allowed to the Minister given that it is unrelated to the report by council,” KMC Mayor Ahmed Talib Bensouda and Ousman Gaye said in a statement.
“The failure of the Minister to notify the council and provide them with the purported CEO’s report or the purported special inspection reports to afford the council an opportunity to consider and if necessary, address their content. Also, the failure of the Minister to observe the rule of law, natural justice procedures and good governance in his dealing with the council suggest that he has a special interest or hidden agenda,” they added.
“The clerk shall instruct retained counsel to commence legal action on behalf of the council to look at the legitimacy of the purported commission and ensure that the rights and interests of the people of KMC are fully protected and that the rule of law shall prevail.
“The Council Calls on the president of the Republic, His Excellency Adama Barrow, to direct the Minister to desist from his current cause of action which is an impediment to the efforts of the council to serve the best interests of the people of KMC,” they continued in the statement.
According to the statement, the Lord Mayor shall communicate the concerns of the council to His Excellency President Barrow in due course.
