Danjo, who served as chairman from May 2018 to 2023, gave his testimony via video link before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI) Now residing in the United States and employed in a health facility, Danjo was grilled over a litany of financial discrepancies and violations of local government laws uncovered during special and system audits.
One of the key corrections made during his testimony, Danjo confirmed the council borrowed funds from Furu Gomez, a former President of the URR Regional Football Association without ministerial approval, an act that contravenes the Local Government Finance and Audit Act of 2004. He admitted the move was wrong and unlawful.
The Commission presented evidence that more than D51 million was withdrawn from council accounts between 2018 and 2023 without proper documentation or oversight. Danjo admitted that there were no thresholds established at the council for financial approvals, which is a legal requirement under the Local Government Act 2002. He said he became aware of the extent of the withdrawals only after a system audit.
“I agree that there was mismanagement,” Danjo said, conceding that funds meant for development projects were diverted to pay salaries and service loans. “The monies that I knew were withdrawn were put into projects,” he claimed, but admitted that many expenditures lacked documentation. “If the expenditure has no documents to back it, I will agree with you that it is suspicious.”
He also confirmed that D2 million in government subvention was diverted to repay the unlawful loan from Furu Gomez. “Yes, I agree that was not correct,” he said, when told that the action violated financial laws.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez challenged Danjo repeatedly on the failure to follow financial procedures, including the council’s decision to contract loans amounting to over D26 million from banks like Supersonic, Vista Bank, and FIB without approval from the Ministry.
Danjo admitted to authorizing the loans but argued that the council had written to the ministry requesting approval. He could not, however, provide any evidence of such correspondence during the hearing, saying he was not currently in the country.
The inquiry also delved into transactions made through the personal account of the Finance Director, Lamin Susso, i He said the council had no disciplinary powers over Susso but informed the Ministry of Local Government, recommending that Susso refund the misappropriated funds.
On the issue of massive overdrafts at Trust Bank and Vista Bank, amounting to over D2.4 million, Danjo argued that the financial pressure came from the need to pay salaries and execute development projects. He said that when he took office, he found an existing overdraft at Trust Bank. However, Lead Counsel Gomez asserted that the overdrafts, unlawful loans, and irregular withdrawals were signs of serious mismanagement. Danjo ultimately conceded, saying, “Yes, if you say it that way, I agree.”
Lead Counsel pointed to the National Audit Report, which found that six council accounts were not reconciled, a significant failure that rendered the council’s financial statements unreliable. Danjo agreed, saying, “Yes, the financial statement is not correct.”
Further admissions revealed that from 2019, there had been no bank reconciliations, no yearly reports prepared for 2020 and 2021, no fuel records, and no implementation of audit recommendations. These lapses, Danjo admitted, contributed to further mismanagement and weakened governance.
The testimony also revealed that during Danjo’s term, the council diverted over D2 million in subvention funds, contracted D26 million in loans without authorization, and allowed the finance director to make large, undocumented withdrawals. Payments of over D2 million were made to Green Vision for construction projects, with allegations of kickbacks and overpayments in projects such as the Bajan Kunda Bridge, which cost over D3 million.
