By: Fatou Krubally
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Monday ordered Banjul City Council’s (BCC) Audit Director, Sanna Sawaneh, to return with audit reports he failed to present, despite being in possession of them.
During his testimony, Sawaneh acknowledged receiving an audit file from his predecessor, Abdoulie J. Corr, which contained eight audit findings from 2022. However, he admitted to bringing only three to the commission, claiming the rest were not relevant.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez pressed him on the missing reports, but Sawaneh insisted that he had not reviewed the full file, stating, “The documents in that file were of no use to me.” He maintained that he focused on current financial records, disregarding older ones.
Unconvinced by his response, Gomez accused him of deliberately withholding information. “You know exactly what you are doing you just don’t want to produce the documents,” he told Sawaneh.
Commission Chairperson Jainaba Bah intervened, instructing Sawaneh to leave the hearing and return with all audit reports, including the full 2022 findings and four additional reports he had prepared since taking office.
“You cannot sit here and tell us you do not know what you received,” Bah said. “Go back and bring the full documents.”
Though Sawaneh denied any intention to conceal records, he agreed to comply with the order.
Earlier in the proceedings, he admitted that he had not reviewed past audit reports, preferring to focus on more recent financial matters.
Gomez strongly criticized this approach, calling it irresponsible. “You should be interested in how the institution was managed before your tenure,” he said. “Ignoring past reports means you are not doing your job properly.”
Commissioner Oreme J. Joiner also questioned his reluctance to examine past audits, pointing out that unresolved financial issues had carried over from previous years.
“Issues from previous reports have not been corrected,” Joiner said. “To understand what has happened, you should have reviewed those audit reports before taking any action.”
Under mounting pressure, Sawaneh ultimately conceded that he had overlooked past records an omission the commission was unwilling to ignore.
