Witness Badjie appeared at the Local Government Commission on Monday and Tuesday to give evidence.
In 2018, Badjie was a deputy director of services. He said at the time of redeployment, he was not issued any directives on what to do. That is to say he was not given terms of reference (ToR) for his job. He said after assuming his new role, he was verbally informed by the director of services that he was there to assist him.
He testified that he was responsible for supervising the managers in his unit and also performed oversight over the dumpsite in Manjai.
He admitted before the Commission that he used to collect monies from the collectors at the dumpsite. He said whenever he took the cash from the revenue collectors at the dumpsite, he paid it to the cashier of the Council.
Badjie added that he did not have records to show how much he received from the collectors at the dumpsite, saying he only had the receipts of the monies he gave to the cashiers. These were receipts he obtained from the cashier whenever he deposited the funds. He could not account for the monies he received.
“Mr Badjie, the cashier will only give you receipts for what you submitted to him,” Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez said. Badjie affirmed.
“How would you account for how much you received?” Counsel Gomez asked.
“I don’t keep the records,” Badjie said in response.
On why he was personally taking money from the collectors, he said the KMC was doing a pilot project on ticketing at the dumpsite. He added that the Council passed a resolution for the service department to take the lead.
However, when Gomez asked whether his name was specifically mentioned or whether it was his role to collect revenue, Badjie answered in the negative.
“Did the council mandate you to collect revenue?” Counsel Gomez asked.
“They said," Badjie maitained, "the service department should be responsible for the piloting, and they had passed a resolution."
The top KM staff was handed the Financial Manual for Local Government, the council resolution of May 2018 and his employment contract containing his term of reference.
“The pilot did not say I should collect money myself,” he stated after reading them.
“Then why were you collecting the money?” Counsel Gomez posed, and Badjie answered that was because he "issued them the receipts."
He admitted again that nobody gave him the instruction to collect revenue.
“The collectors said you collect money from them, and you do not give them receipts,” Gomez told him. Badjie said it was correct.
Witness Lamin F. Badjie also said he did not maintain a cash book to show records of the monies he received.
“You collect money from the collectors, and you do not sign for it, and you do not issue them receipts. How can you account for what you collected?” Gomez asked.
Badjie said he did not know that he should issue them receipts after collecting money from them. He added that he was of the opinion that since he issued them the receipt books, he was supposed to receive the monies from them.
