By Mustapha Jarju
Some farmers in upper Badibu have claimed that they have been paid with fake money at the Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) sales point in Badibou Minteh Kunda which has led to the arrest of the Secko president at that area.
“The fake monies were detected when Fafanding Conteh`s wife called Natoma Keita was given money that was paid by the GGC agents to go and pay her loan at the bank,” Masanneh Cham, resident of Njaba Kunda village confirmed to King FM Radio in Tallinding.
“This was when Fafanding called one of my children to bring out the money for confirmation, but any money they check has no sign of original D200 notes on them. They counted the money which was up to twenty-three thousand dalasi but they are all fake notes,” he narrated.
“I told him I cannot take that word because the last money that came to Njaba Kunda Secko was D2 million and it was all in fifty Dalasi (D50) notes and most of those notes are with iron they are not good,” he added.
He said another person come to him that there is a problem in Njaba Kunda and people were at the police station because of the same issue as the money they were paid at Minteh Kunda GGC sales point are all fake money. Adding “this was when I took my motorbike to the police station where I found people with the CID officers”.
He said one of the victims said he received twenty-three thousand dalasi (D23, 000) all fake and another one called Yoro Jadama said he was paid Seventeen thousand dalasi (D17,000) all fake money, too. More so, about seven other people from Noo Kunda, Minteh Kunda and other surrounding villages also reported similar issue to the said police station.
Meanwhile, Yaya Nyagado, president of the Association of Secko managers, said: “this issue of paying farmers with false occurred in Minteh Kunda and they have contacted most of the seckos in that surrounding but the Managers, AGIB workers and the secko president said they did not detect any false money from the money they are paying.”
“I have been working in the area of groundnut selling since 2001 but this is the first time to encounter such in the country, he added that this year there is no competition in the groundnut market because it is only GGC who are buying groundnut in the country a reason which most selling points became congested as farmers from the Gambia and those in the neighbouring villages in Senegal all came to sell their groundnut at the GGC selling points,” he explained.
“Due to this reason most Gambians did not sell their groundnut because many Senegalese bring in their groundnut to sell it in the Gambia and the amount that the GGC need they already got that we are just making efforts to make sure the Gambians’ groundnut are not left with them like that,” he added.