Top KM staff probed over ‘Wanterr’ honorarium payments

Modou A. Njie recalled that market vendors committee held discussions with the standing committee of the Market on what to pay them for participating in the ‘Wanterr’.

He also told the commission that the members of the said committee do not collect revenue, but only participate in the demarcation, saying the market master and his collectors do the collection.

However, he maintained that they were paid sitting allowances and honorariums.

Gomez further put to the witness that they don’t collect revenue and each of them is paid D9,000.?

Njie however, admitted that he was the one who usually made the request and the cheques were usually issued to them in his name on the same day.

Further quizzed as to how he made payments, Njie maintained that he provided an undated one-page sheet of the names of people and signatures. He however, claimed that it was for 2021.

From the D185,000 collected, he said the decision was for 15 percent to be paid to them as honorarium.

To that end, Chairperson Jainaba Bah also asked the witness whether the amount was for one day, but he said it was the collection from the tables.

He explained further that each table paid D500, adding that this excluded the hawkers.

"The ‘Wanterr’ allowance is paid every ‘Koriteh and Tobaski," he said.

Njie revealed that whatever was collected they paid themselves 15 percent.

Chairperson Bah raised the issue of possibility of fraud in view of the fact that there was no document to show the demarcation of the tables.

Njie however clarified that the committee did the demarcation and the market master and his team did the collection.

The table owners, he added, are each given a receipt and he cross-checked the receipts.