Mr Krubally, formerly a cashier at the Basse Area Council, was detailing to commissioners how the Basse Area Council paid suppliers.
Prior to his appointment as a staff at the Basse Area Council, the witness worked at Jahalli Pacharr from 1989 until 2002. In 2018, he became a revenue collector at the Basse Area Council, where he was later redeployed as cashier.
Shedding light on the mechanisms used to pay suppliers, Mr Krubally told the Commission that sometimes the Basse Area Council “take goods from suppliers on loan and sometimes we buy directly”.
“We take invoices and bring it to our office, and then the PO [procurement officer] will prepare the vouchers. If at all there is need for a cheque, then a cheque is prepared in the name of the supplier. Sometimes, there are suppliers whom you know that taking cheques would be hard for them. So we used various payments [methods] to pay them.” he explained.
“You said yesterday that you conducted most of the procurement because the procurement officer was not available,” Lead Counsel Yakarr Cox asked.
“Yes, when he was not at the workplace due to sickness or when he is attending a course, then I was usually advised to step in,” he answered.
“So the payment vouchers are raised before cheques are issued,” the lead counsel asked, seeking clarification from the witness.
The witness responded: “Sometimes the cheques and invoices are all prepared to pay. Sometimes due to circumstances, payment would be effected first and then cheques are prepared.
Later reacting to a question by the lead counsel, the witness admitted that some of the ways they carried out transactions in their relation with suppliers was not proper. He acknowledged flouting of the provisions of their regulations and laws.
