By: Kemo Kanyi
The Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe, has denied the allegation that the BCC has misused funds provided to it through the EU-Funded Banjul-Ostend City partnership, saying the allegation was “politically-motivated”.
The Deputy Mayor of Ostend city, Maxim Dock, claimed recently that the funds were not used for their intended purposes, but were used to buy curtains, organize a staff retreat and other unintended purposes.
However, the Banjul mayor strenuously denied these claims, emphasizing that all funds were managed in a transparent manner and in compliance with the European Union guidelines.
Speaking in a press conference at the BCC hall yesterday, Mayor Lowe sought to clarify that the BCC was not a signatory to any of the funding accounts, maintaining that the council cannot influence or authorize the withdrawal of the funds without EU’s prior approval.
“BCC is not a signatory to those accounts. We cannot access funds without the approval of the European Union. So, how can we mismanage the funds?” she stated.
Mayor Lowe told reporters that the BCC was audited and that she received information from the EU that the audit report was satisfactory, adding that no instance of misappropriation of funds has been forwarded by the auditors.
“We were audited and the reply we received from Ostend was that the audit findings were satisfactory because it does not indicate any financial misappropriation in our handling of the EU funds under this project,” Mayor Lowe pointed out.
The Banjul Mayor added that Maxim Dock believes that the city of Banjul only deserves old clothing, outdated computers, and ambulances, stating that Maxim didn’t want Banjul to benefit from the project since its inception though these claims could not be independently verified by The Voice.
