He highlighted that, on numerous occasions, the petty cash funds were entrusted to "officials of the Council."
He testified: "I clearly recall that between 2018 and 2019, I had no voice in the council's decision-making. The power was entirely concentrated in management's hands. I had to remain silent to safeguard my own position for the future."
Auditor Njie addressed concerns regarding potential fraudulent receipts associated with Jah Oil.
The witness clarified that the receipts were utilized to secure payment from the Council, stating that the agreement entailed the Council making direct monthly payments to Jah Oil for the fuel supplied. He emphasized that the receipts should originate directly from Jah Oil.
“To the best of my understanding, the receipts were managed at the council level, and it was management, rather than Jah Oil, that handled the documentation of those receipts,” he testified.
"Witness Njie testified that the receipts were issued by the management of the Council, particularly the CEO, adding that the duplicates of the receipts were not found, saying: “They were too many receipts.”
Njie emphasized that, despite an internal investigation in accordance with the audit recommendations, the payments remained untraceable.
He clarified that the General Council created a committee; however, he firmly stated that the committee did not live up to its obligations. He noted that he was a member of this committee. The Commission has directed him to provide the minutes from the General Council meeting in which this matter was discussed and the committee was established.
Njie highlighted a significant issue regarding outstanding rates and taxes, which reached a total of two hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred eighty-four dalasis for the years 2019 and 2020. This crucial finding was documented in his audit report after he uncovered that several communities were in arrears.
He stated that the Kuntaur Area Council lacks a dedicated cashier. “Instead, the finance director and accounts clerks are responsible for managing payments, effectively serving as both the paying-out cashier and the receiving cashier.”
Commissioner Jainaba Bah, the chairperson of the Commission, referred to the 2018 National Audit Report to challenge the witness regarding the discrepancies between the voucher amounts and those recorded in the cash books.
“The auditors discovered a discrepancy exceeding fifty thousand dalasis in the vouchers they sampled.”
Auditor Njie reported that the Council formed a team that successfully gathered the necessary documents, which have now been submitted to the National Audit Office.
The National Audit Office has revealed that Mr. Njie previously engaged in post-auditing rather than pre-auditing. He acknowledged that he was not involved in pre-auditing and instead created reports retroactively.
"Why did you do that?" the chairperson asked.
"I was denied access to the payment vouchers, which prevents me from conducting an independent audit. That was the issue," the witness explained.
