Kebba Fatty, the accounts clerk of the Kuntaur Area Council, Monday appeared before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry to testify over the shortage in revenues.
Mr Fatty has been working in the Kuntaur Area Council for 19 years. He was appointed as a market collector and worked for 15 years before he was promoted to the positions of junior revenue collector, senior revenue collection and then a senior accounts assistant.
He was redeployed to the internal control and audit unit of the Kuntaur Area Council. In 2018, he said he was an accounting assistant stationed at the Kaur sub-treasury, a position he held for 3 years.
He provided his appointment letter dated 15 November 2005 and other relevant documents.
Fatty said the internal control officer was a new position created by the Kuntaur Area Council for him, adding that this happened after completing his course at the MDI. He testified that he was assigned to the office without any terms of reference.
While occupying the office, he was informed by the internal auditor Abdou Njie that they would share responsibilities. He stated that his responsibility was to reconcile revenue cash books.
“But you have no experience in doing this,” Lead Counsel Gomez said. Fatty affirmed.
He said he was given that role “by virtue of my experience in the Council” and the other reason was that between 2019 and 2020, he was attached to the finance department helping the director of finance to do reconciliation of revenue cash books.
As per evidence before the Commission, while occupying the office of the accounts assistant in 2018, the witness suppressed an amount of D95,000 ninety-four thousand dalasis.
Mr Fatty admitted liability, explaining that in August 2017, Kuntaur was affected by a heavy flood that affected his family. He said his family was evacuated to the market site and they slept there for a while.
“That was the reason for the suppression,” he said.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez told the witness that the collections were for 19 weeks, which was a long time. He asked the witness why he was not depositing the revenue in the council account.
“I was given a green light by the CEO [Pa Fansu Darboe] to collect and renovate my compound. That was why I did not deposit the money in the bank,” Mr Fatty explained.
Lead Counsel Gomez referred the witness to his own letter of 16 July 2019 with the subject ‘Notification of Shortage’ and a letter addressed to the witness, dated 25 September 2019, from the CEO. Both letters were tendered and admitted in evidence.
“Mr Fatty, you did not state in your letter that you were instructed by the CEO to use the money,” Lead Counsel Gomez told the witness. Witness Fatty affirmed.
He testified that when he was called to do the reconciliation, the finance manager discovered the shortage of D94,000 in the market cash book.
Fatty claimed that when the matter was taken to the CEO, he reminded the CEO that he gave him verbal approval to use the money to renovate his family compound during a visit to the affected families. He said the CEO denied giving him such instruction.
Fatty said he was asked to take D50,000. The lead counsel thus asked why he took 95,000.
He testified that the D94,000 comprised other shortages in the other findings made against him.
Quizzed over the repayment of these shortages, he said he paid D40,000 in the council account; D50,000 to the finance unit; D4,000 through deductions from his salary.
Mr Fatty was informed that the Kuntaur Area Council has only one account, which is a Trust Bank account. He was handed the account to show the deposits he made as repayment.
“I am having some difficulties to see because my eyes are paining me,” the witness said.
He provided two cash books for 2018 and 2019, which were admitted in evidence. He also said it is wrong and unlawful to suppress revenues of the Council.
The rest of the witness’s testimony was marred with grave inconsistencies.
After reading from the cash books and the audit reports, Lead Counsel Gomez found that the witness had suppressed other funds.
“It seems you are chronic in revenue suppression,” Counsel Gomez alarmed, but Fatty maintained that “those were understatements” he made.
“Understatement is fraud,” Counsel Gomez charged.
