The scandal revolves around the audacious duplication of vouchers unearthed during the scrutiny of the 2020/21 Audit Report at the Commission, raising serious concerns about the authenticity of transactions and the worrying threat of financial loss to the council.
The main focus of the Commission was 2020/21 audit report for the Mansakonko Area Council, and in that report the auditors of the National Audit Office dropped a cataclysmic revelation, exposing duplicate payment vouchers amounting to a staggering sum of D32,860 across four different transactions.
With a firm assertion, they sounded the alarm, highlighting a substantial risk that those payments might be fraudulent, potentially leading to a significant drain on the council's finances.
During an intense drama at the Commission that echoed with tension, Sallah, a witness before the Commission, vehemently disputed the auditors' findings, asserting ignorance on how such discrepancies could have arisen.
Sallah said he did not know how the auditors came up with that finding, saying he was of the view that some of the payment vouchers were cancelled, a crucial detail which was perhaps overlooked by auditors.
Counsel Patrick Gomez, a lawyer, whose unrelenting determination to unveil the entire truth seemed infinite, grilled Sallah, probing into the heart of the matter.
“You were the director of finance, and it was your responsibility to provide the auditors evidence to that effect. Did you provide them?” Counsel Patrick Gomez asked.
The defiant Sallah retorted, "The auditors did not ask for it."
As the day’s session progressed on Thursday afternoon at the chamber in the Djembe Hotel, Senegambia, the atmosphere in the Commission buzzed with incredulity and suspicion as the unfolding testimony portrayed a picture of financial mismanagement and potential malfeasance at the hands of those tasked with safeguarding public funds.
