Staff not paid for 3-month
By Mama A. Touray
Sulayman Bah, a native of Basse Santa-su and a Senior Revenue Collector at Basse Area Council (BsAC) has on Thursday affirmed that the BsAC Finance Director Lamin Susso collected D11,500 of council funds from him.
Sulayman Bah who is a witness at the ongoing sitting of the Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI) made the confirmation when his statement was shown to him, the Counsel tendered the statement and Chairperson Jainaba Bah admitted the statement dated 17th of May 2023 as evidence.
On his encounter with the Finance Director, Lamin Suso, Mr. Bah said Director Suso called him over the phone while he was on his way coming back from the collection with one other revenue collector, Abdou Karim Bah.
“I am only a supervisor. I was only going with the collectors when going for collection,” he told the Commission.
Mr. Bah explained that there was a day when he used LaminManneh’s machine (motorbike), who at the time was sick, while doing the collection he said Finance Director Lamin Sussocalled him to come to the office.
“The Director of Finance asked me to give him the D5,000 I collected and I handed it over to him,” the witness said.
He added that the Director said he was going to use the money to buy cash power for the council while he (Director Suso) wrote a note and gave him.
On the following day, Mr. Bah continued that he went to do the collection again and the same Director of Finance Mr. LaminSusso called him to come to the office again. “This time too, he collected Six Thousand Five Hundred Dalasis (D6500)”.
He went on that a day later, the CEO of the BsAC demanded that he should collect the from the Director of Finance and deposit it in the council account.
“The Finance Director asked me to give him some time,” he told the Commission.
He went further that the Finance Director left and later came back with the money. And the money was later refunded to Lamin. “The money he [Director Suso] took from us no one knows where he takes it,” the witness said.
Meanwhile, Sulayman Bah disclosed that the staff of the area council have not been paid salary for three (3) months.
When asked whether he knew about the Finance Director collecting money from revenue collectors, the witness said it had been happening.
“He has been doing that. It does not tell well,” Mr. Bah said.
The witness said Muhammed Suso, a revenue collector, said he gave money to Director Lamin Suso.
He narrated that he began his career as a revenue collector at the Mansakonko Area Council in 1994 and transferred to the BasseArea Council in 2003. He is currently a Senior Revenue Collector at the Basse Area Council and also (Revenue) Collector Supervisor.
