Two key Kerewan Area Council executives testified before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday, disclosing large financial transfers made on senior council members’ behalf without apparent explanation.
Senior revenue collector Fabakary Fofana testified that he took more over D1.3 million out of many council bank accounts without telling anyone why. Fofana, who has been with the council since 2007 and is currently stationed in Farafenni, told the panel that although all of the checks were made out to him, he was never given information on how the money was to be spent.
“They would not disclose the reason for the checks they write in my name,” Fofana said. “I received checks from the CEO, but I would take the money out without understanding why.”
Three of Fofana’s cash books, which cover transactions from 2016 to 2023, were allowed into evidence by the commission, which is looking into the financial practices of local governments between May 2018 and January 2023. On orders from Seedy Touray, the Chief Executive Officer at the time, he withdrew 355,000 dalasis from Trust Bank, 150,375 dalasis from Ecobank, 807,900 dalasis from Vista Bank, and 52,462.61 dalasis from Access Bank, according to records.
In a similar development, market manager Babou Ndour also admitted in his testimony before the panel that he made large cash withdrawals on senior officials’ behalf but had no control over the expenditure of the funds.
According to Ndour, who manages ten revenue collectors in Farafenni, he routinely gathered money before putting it in the bank. Additionally, he mentioned that he had once been told to use money for things like fuel or electricity, which he then recorded in his cash book.
Ndour was questioned regarding a 165,000-dalasi withdrawal purportedly intended for a road and market cleaning project in Farafenni. But he claimed he couldn’t remember ever doing any cleaning of any kind.
“I don’t recall doing such an exercise. “No one informed me of it,” he remarked.
He was also made aware of another withdrawal that was purportedly made to Ned Enterprise for the same cleaning project. This is the first time I’ve heard it here. No, I don’t know,” he said.
Ndour was further questioned by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez over more withdrawals, such as those for 50,000, 170,000, and 110,000 dalasis. Ndour acknowledged that he had taken the money out, but he maintained that he had no idea what it was being used for.
“I don’t know why I withdrew the money and gave it to the CEO,” he stated.
Ndour had taken out large sums of money from several institutions, including Trust Bank (610,715 dalasis), GTBank (1,089,910 dalasis), and Ecobank (4,807,960.46 dalasis), according to bank data. When asked to explain the expenses, he insisted that his responsibility was restricted to taking the money out and giving it to higher-ups.
