Mbanyick J. Sonko, the sub-treasurer of Kerewan Area Council, who used to be a revenue collector for the same council, was denied startling allegations and adverse findings by the Local Government Commission of Inquiry.
The allegations suggest that Mbanyick, while he was a revenue collector, deposited collected revenue into the accounts of the former CEO.
However, although he acknowledged that he had been depositing monies to the account of the ex-CEO, he said they were not public funds but monies given to him by the ex-CEO himself to deposit into his personal Trust Bank account. The witness stated that this happened on many occasions.
The former CEO Seedy K. Touray later became the CEO of Mansakonko Area Council.
He told the Commission he did not know where former CEO Touray got the monies from but remained adamant that he never gave council’s monies to the former CEO or deposited such monies into the account of the former CEO.
“Seedy K. Touray will give me the money to deposit for him in his own account, but it is not that I will be the one to collect money and deposit it in his account directly,” Mbanyick testified
Chairperson Jainaba Bah brought it to the attention of the witness that he deposited almost two million dalasis into Seedy Touray’s account, but the witness argued that he deposited about a hundred and ninety-three thousand dalasis.
Getting further into the details, Mbanyick relayed that sometimes he would meet with Touray at Barra where he would collect money from him and deposit it into his account at the Trust Bank, Barra branch.
Counsel Patrick Gomez told the witness that in 2018 and 2019, he made huge deposits into his boss’s account. “How would we know these were not the revenues you collected?” he asked.
Mbanyick maintained his position, arguing he never deposited monies belonging to council into Touray’s account. However, he later admitted that the CEO or the finance director used to call him to make some payments from the revenue he collected, and that there were sometimes people were sent to collect monies from the revenue he collected.
Moreover, as he continued his testimony, Mbanyick said the only business of the former CEO he knew was a property he had in Essau, where he (Mbanyick) used to collect monies from the tenants to deposit into the account of the former CEO. He told the Commission that the monthly collection at that property was D6,000.
However, Counsel Gomez put it to him that the figures did not add up to the amount deposited into the ex-CEO’s account. The deputy lead counsel indicated that Mbanyick had deposited D13,000, D40,000, D12,000 and D70,000, among others.
Deputy Counsel Gomez told Mbanyick that former CEO Seedy Touray could have deposited the monies at the Trust Bank in Barra, which was closer, rather than call him to do the deposit for him. Mbanyick agreed with the Counsel’s logic.
As the day’s session wrapped up, Mbanyick was asked to provide evidence such as deposit slips. However, he said he does not have any evidence.
