By: Nicholas Bass
The Chairman of Tujereng Village Development Committee (VDC), Cherno Njai, has denied the allegation of embezzling D300,000 from the treasury of Tujereng village.
The youth of Tujereng have recently accused Mr. Njai of embezzling D300,000 from the VDC.
However, Njai described the allegation as false, saying the VDC is committed to Tujereng’s development.
Tujereng has signed an MoU with GACH Group for payment of royalties for the mining of black sand in the community and the royalties should be paid after every six months of mining.
According to Njai, Tujereng VDC is committed to the development of the village, adding that the committee places a high premium on transparency and accountability. He pointed out that the VDC had last year invited an external auditor to conduct an audit of its expenditures and finances.
Njai promised that the VDC will ensure that any penny from GACH Group is accounted for and used for the greater interest of the community.
He disclosed that the VDC last week received D1.5M from theGACH CEO, stating that the fund would be used for the upkeep of the community’s health center and the development of Tujereng Lower Basic School.
He said the money would be also used to build VDC stores and a hall with offices for the VDC executive.
”I have not embezzled D300,000 from the village coffers and I have not received the money directly into my account because the D300,000 was a down-payment from GACH Company into the VDC account,” Njai explained.
