Witness Lamin Manneh, Revenue Collector for BAC, appeared before the commission and was quizzed on the subject.
The witness informed the commission that on 18 June 2021, he received a call from his line manager asking him to help them in collecting licence revenue from local transfer dealers in the garage.
“We managed to collect D9,000 for the day and upon our return to the office, the director of finance, Lamin Suso, requested that I give him the money because the council urgently needed to carry out expenses. And I handed him the money in the presence of my manager Modou Lamin Carol,” witness Lamin Manneh told the commission.
He further said that transaction took place on a Friday, when he was not to work due to a knee fracture he had.
Lead Counsel Yakarr Cox asked whether the money was returned to him? The witness responded in the negative, saying: “The money was not returned to date.”
The witness further revealed that the following day, on 19 June, which fell on a Saturday, “the director of finance Lamin Suso requested another money from me. He insisted that I should go with him and his driver for collection. I reminded him of my fracture and he said we would both go along and he would do the ‘heavy’ work while I would just be operating my device and the money collected. We generated Nineteen Thousand Five Hundred dalasis, which he claimed to have used to buy fuel for the NDMA team who were working to gravel the high level road”.
“After collection,”witness Manneh said, “We went to GNPC in Basse, he told me he paid for the fuel but no receipt was given to me. He said the receipt will be given to me on Monday.”
Manneh said the finance director then complimented him using the following words: “This is the kind of staff we need who are ready to help the council.”
He said he was also told by the finance director that when it was time for submission he should just get to the finance manager; he would receive his book.
“He gave me a piece of paper that I can give to the finance manager if he insists on not receiving my book,” Manneh explained.
Referring to another transaction that took place on 20 June with the finance director, the witness said: “This time was to settle the field expenses for the ongoing work at the high level road. We collected Eighteen Thousand Seven hundred and fifty dalasis on this day.”
Asked why he kept going with the same director for the same thing, the witness said that by then he was not aware that he should not give money to him directly; rather he should deposit it first then he would go and withdraw it. He added: “I was thinking since he is my immediate boss I should give him, especially if it has to do with council’s work.”
When the Commission’s Chairperson Jainaba Bah Sambou asked if they normally worked on weekends, the witness said: “We do not work on weekends as per the law; we only work during weekends when the council needs money urgently and normally these monies are kept till Monday.”
He said he was given a cash book when he was appointed which should be given to the Finance Manager at end of every working day after depositing the revenues collected to the bank.
Manneh said further that he applied for the position and went through an interview with the established committee, who were three councillors. He added that he has a senior school certificate and a diploma certificate in IT.
“I was appointed at Grade 3 in the council; I was trained within few days then deployed in the field,” he said.
He further told the commission: “Before going to the field, we go to the office, collect tools needed (revenue collection machine and cash book) from the field, then we deposit collected revenues to the bank before we close.”
He added: “Before collection we register, evaluate and collect the data (businesses) and then we go for collection.We have tariffs for different businesses depending on the values of the goods.”
When Counsel Yakarr Cox asked if any of them had qualifications to do evaluation, the witness said they had no qualifications, but they would determine the values based on assumption.
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