By: Fatou Krubally
Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe and former Banjul City Council (BCC) Chief Executive Officer Mustapha Batchilly on Monday gave conflicting accounts before The Gambia’s Local Government Commission of Inquiry as they were grilled over audit failures, missing project funds, and alleged mismanagement under their watch.
Facing the Commission, Batchilly admitted that crucial project documents were never shown to auditors but argued that the responsibility was not his alone. “The auditors were not shown some of the documents they requested,” he said. When asked if he made any effort to fix it, Batchilly admitted he did not take “specific steps” before leaving BCC for another role.
Commission Chairperson Ajaratou Jainaba Bah reminded him of his role. “Mr Batchilly, it is your job to make sure they get the documents. You were the head of finance,” she said.
Mayor Lowe, for her part, painted a picture of a deeply divided council where top officials did not even speak to one another. “The CEO does not talk to Finance. Finance does not talk to Audit,” she told the Commission. “Whenever auditors come to the Banjul City Council, they face difficulties.”
She accused Batchilly’s finance director, Momodou Camara, of ignoring laid-down procedures and disbursing funds and loans without her knowledge. “I was not even aware,” she said. “If the audit didn’t flag it, I wouldn’t have known in 100 years.”
However, Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez reminded the Mayor that she holds ultimate responsibility. “You are the overall supervisor of administration,” he told her. “Where they don’t follow the law, you have to act.”
Mayor Lowe insisted she did take action when problems came up. “If Mr Camara is not doing the right thing, we will discuss it in Council. We call him. We pass resolutions,” she said.
The Commission pressed Batchilly on why millions of dalasis in project funds were left unaccounted for when records showed incomplete reporting and no proper follow-up. He repeated that the audit was never discussed by the full Council. “The audit report came out, but there was no Council discussion,” he said.
Mayor Lowe described the financial chaos as a system she inherited but tried to fix. She claimed her efforts were blocked by staff who refused to cooperate. “It’s a culture I met there,” she said.
Gomez concluded that poor leadership and a lack of internal control were to blame for the millions that vanished. “Where there is no coordination, you create a fertile ground for misuse,” he warned.
The Commission will continue hearings this week as it examines how the gaps in BCC’s leadership contributed to financial losses that remain unexplained.