The special audit of BCC for the years 2021 and 2022 revealed that SABS was paid over D3 million for revenue collection services that duplicated the work already being carried out by BCC’s own revenue collectors.
Batchilly admitted that the contract with SABS was signed during his tenure, claiming the aim was to collect from new revenue sources and boost overall revenue.
However, he acknowledged that SABS ended up collecting from traditional revenue streams already under the responsibility of existing council staff.
Chairperson of the Commission, Jainaba Bah, raised serious concerns about the legality and necessity of the contract. “Why do you have to contract a company when it is not bringing anything new on the table?” she asked, adding that BCC has staff specifically hired to collect revenue.
Former Finance Director Momodou Camara, in his written statement, said SABS collected D25 million during the first year of its contract, but Batchilly disagreed with this figure, stating the amount should have been higher had the company truly introduced new revenue sources.
Commissioner Gomez emphasised that SABS was not engaged for debt collection and insisted that no new revenue lines were created.
He described the contract as wasteful, stating: “SABS was paid over D3 million for doing nothing.”
Gomez also pointed out that the contract was issued without adequate due diligence and bypassed the proper procurement process. He challenged Batchilly on the justification of the award, saying the procedures used were irregular and lacked transparency.
In addition to the SABS matter, Batchilly was questioned on other financial irregularities flagged by auditors. One such issue involved an overpayment of D100,000 to a contractor for works at Albert Market. The contract value was D968,000, but the council paid D1,068,000. Batchilly said he would need time to provide the breakdown of that payment.
The commission also examined a D100,000 payment made from BCC accounts to Smart Technology, reportedly as a scholarship award. Batchilly claimed the payment was made directly to the institution after receiving applications, but the Commission requested full records of all scholarships issued by BCC between 2018 and 2023.
Another contentious issue was the payment of D795,000 to Lawyer Sasum Sillah as legal fees for a case where the Mayor was personally sued by civil society groups over attestation for voter registration. Batchilly admitted that the legal fees were negotiated by the Mayor and not approved by the council.
“It is not proper for the Mayor to negotiate legal fees,” Gomez told Batchilly, who conceded the point.
Batchilly also acknowledged that the BCC did not conduct routine bank reconciliations. He said the former finance director told him he could not do it, leading the council to hire someone externally for the task.
Questions were also raised about allowances paid to the Steering Committee for the £3.1 million Ostend-Banjul Project. Batchilly was asked why those allowances were increased and whether it was in line with policy. He responded that the payments were budgeted and promised to submit documentation.
The audit also flagged a payment of D1.3 million to Dem’s Trading for the purchase of coconut seedlings, with auditors questioning the company’s competence for the job.
Batchilly distanced himself from the management responses submitted to auditors, saying he was not involved in preparing them and also he was not satisfied with their content. He requested more time to gather supporting documents and respond to the audit queries directly.
