By Nicholas Bass
The Chairperson of Brikama Area Council’s Establishment and Appointment Committee, Momodou Charreh Gibba, on Wednesday, confirmed that the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) has stated a one-month suspension without salary against BAC’s Director of Finance Alhagie Jeng with an order for seven license collectors of the council to resume work.
According to a statement released from the Office of the Local Government Service Commission dated 14 December 2023, the BAC’s Director of Finance, Alhagie Jeng, and the Director of Administration, Ebrima Sawaneh, were found responsible for the wrongful appointments of Bai Sait Jeng and Muhammed Ebrima Jallow.
The release also stated that BAC’s director of finance masterminded the appointment of Sait Jeng and Jallow and as a result, Alhagie Jeng “is suspended for one month without salary”.
The office of the LGSC has strictly warned the BAC’s Director of Administration, Ebrima Sawaneh, to desist from issuing appointment letters without following due process.
The LGSC’s release revealed that BAC’s director of finance was not directly found to be responsible for the appointment and placement of his close relatives namely Malick Jeng, SulaymanJeng, and Omar Saidykan, noting that such allegation was found to have undue influence on the process. The Commission pointed out that it was also found to be unethical to have Jeng’srelatives under his department. In the verdict of the LGSC, close relatives of the BAC’s director of finance shall be redeployed to other councils.
The release also stated that the license manager, Ebrima Jallow, was not found wanting to suppress revenue and collecting money without submission as alleged by the council, noting that the LGSC found out that Jallow was not a collector and he did not sign receipt books.
LGSC said Jallow was found to have privately photocopied invoices at a cost of D2,500 without the involvement of the Procurement Unit, stating that such invoices were not incurred by the council and, therefore, Jallow should take full responsibility in settling the liability due to his failure in following due process.
Meanwhile, LGSC revealed that Bai Jeng and Muhammed Ebrima Jallow were found to have been appointed without following due process, noting that since the circumstances surrounding such appointment of Jeng and Jallow were wrong, their service should be terminated immediately and their names shall be removed from council’s payroll.