By: Sandally Sawo
The Lumo Mistress at the JanjanburehArea Council, Karo Jobarteh, said the council’s director of finance and council employee Edrisa Manneh used to make monetary requests from the monies collected from the weekly markets.
Testifying before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI) this week, Jobarteh adduced that the finance director and Manneh used to telephone her to request Lumo dues.
“They used to tell me that the council needed cash power and other needs. EdrisaManneh used to call me and sometimes the director of finance used to call me directly to give them money. Sometimes, I give them D5000. Any amount they found with me is what I give them,” she testified.
The witness said she could not tell how the monies she gave the finance director and Manneh were used. When confronted with the evidence that investigators uncovered a missing D24,840 revenue shortfall, Jobarteh said the finance director and Manneh were responsible.
“They are responsible for it. Whenever they asked for money, I gave them,” she testified.
The witness informed the commission that the Lumos did not have cleaners and toilet facilities.
Meanwhile, the LGCI chairperson JainabaBah drew the witness’s attention to January and February of 2020 when she deposited D18,000 and D22,000 into the council’s account with Reliance Financial’s Brikamaba branch but thereafter made no deposit until November of 2021.
When the chairperson asked why she did not deposit any money into the account for almost a year, the witness replied: “All the monies were given to them to spend on the needs of the council. I made collections but they took the money from me.”