By Mama A. Touray
Some anomalies have been detected in BsAC tariffs charges as its Assistant Accountant and Licence Manager, MomodouLamin Keru testified on Monday at the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI) holdings at Djembe Hotel, Kololi.
The Deputy Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez indicated that the witness was not consistent and trying to deceive the Commission, while it was noted that Basse Area Council overcharges certain businesses and undercharges some others, too.
Meanwhile, it was noted by the LG Commission that the tariffs charges are inconsistent thus the tariffs for the banks are supposed to be D100,000 while the Basse Area Council (BsAC) is collecting D150,000, and other collections are D7500 for Foreign Exchange Bureaus, D15,000 for Insurance Companies but the tariff fee is D50,000 while GSM companies pay D100,000.
However, the Assistant Accountant and License Manager of the Basse Area Council, Momodou Lamin Keru, on Monday, 11th September 2023 testified before the Commissioners about his alleged withdrawal of funds belonging to BsAC.
Mr. Keru’s testification was based on the audit report which revealed that the witness (Keru) withdrew the sum of D1,189,247 from the council’s accounts.
The witness admitted withdrawing D80,000 from the council’s account on the 22nd of November 2022, saying from that amount D600,000 was meant for salary, D100,000 was to be deposited at Agib Bank and the other D100,000 was to be deposited at Supersonics Micro Finance.
The Commission requested vouchers he used to make those withdrawals and the witness promised to bring them.
He told the Commission that he used to pay the allowance of members of the District Tribunals and retired former council staff.
He explained that for salary payments, the council used to withdraw money from one bank and make deposits in another bank to pay salary.
The report further revealed that on the 16th of October 2020, the witness withdrew D100,000 from the council’s account.
When asked what was the transaction about, Mr. Keruresponded that he could not remember what the money was spent on, adding that the council sometimes does an overdraft facility from the bank to do salary payments.
The witness was asked why his name was on the cheques when the council could have paid the beneficiaries directly. He replied that it was the instruction from CEO Ousman Touray and Finance Director Lamin Susso.
The witness said the auditors did not request the vouchers before making such findings.
The Basse Area Council’s tariffs were promulgated in the Gazette in 2011 and until now, it has not been changed. The Commission noted that the area council was not following the tariffs. For example, the tariff for General Traders is D8,000 but it has been increased to D10,000.
“What you do is subjective valuation. You just look at a shop and say this is what you have to pay. Is that correct? Chairperson Jainaba Bah asked.
And the witness responded “Yes”.
Meanwhile, the Commission noted that the witness made a total withdrawal of D2,049,650 from the council’s account at Trust Bank. The witness said at that time the council did not have a cashier and he was doing the withdrawals because the chequeswere issued in his name.
LG Commission Further noted the tariffs for the banks are supposed to be D100,000, but the Basse Area Council is collecting D150,000 and that other collections are D7,500 for Foreign Exchange Bureaus, D15,000 for Insurance Companies but the tariff fee is D50,000, and GSM companies pay D100,000.
It was also noted that Basse Area Council overcharges for some and undercharges for others.
The commission noted that Momodou Lamin Keru made a total withdrawal of D1, 189,247 between January 2020 and December 2021 and that the members of the finance unit of the Basse Area Council made a total withdrawal of D51, 000,000between January 2020 to October 2022.
In the written witness statement of the witness dated the 19th of May 2023, he said the vouchers were with the Director of Finance, but during his appearance before the Commission, he said he gave the vouchers to the police.
Deputy Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez said the witness was not consistent and was trying to deceive the Commission. The witness insisted that he gave the vouchers to the police.
