By Arret Jatta
Eliman S. Kah the former IT manager at Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), told the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry that he resigned from KMC because his salary was stopped without explanation.
“My salary was stopped without a notice and when I made inquiries through the Office of the CEO, nobody could tell me why my salary was stopped. So, I decided not to continue with the Council,” the witness said.
He tried to find out but the CEO could not tell him why his salary was stopped.
Mr. Kah further disclosed to the commission that he was employed at KMC in 2008 as an IT Technician and in 2010 he was promoted to the position of IT Manager.
He further stated that he was the manager until he left on 31 July 2021.
In his testimony, he said he requested a 10-day leave to sit for his exams and it was granted by the then-CEO Sainabou Martin-Sonko.
He added that he also requested another 15-day leave, but the director of administration tried to stop him.
“I told him to write whatever opinion he has and forward it to the CEO, who has the final say on whether I should go on leave or not,” the witness divulged.
He added that the CEO approved his leave and told him that he can go, but when needed, he would be called back.
While on leave, he said he got information that his salary was stopped and he called the CEO who informed him that she did not give that instruction for his salary to be stopped.
“From there, I decided to write my resignation letter,” he said.
He testified that the Council did not respond to his letter and after 3 weeks he was asked to do a handing over.
He said he already handed them a handing-over note and added that to date the Council had not replied to him.
The Commission noted that in his written statement, he indicated that his resignation was triggered by “unethical, unprofessional, and very disrespectful administrative lapses.”
The witness said those were his exact words, adding that he was a senior staff when he was at the Council and they could have accorded him some respect even if they were going to stop his salary.
