By Ramatoulie Jawo
The Basse Area Council announced in a press release on October 12, 2023, that it had fired its CEO and Finance Director for financial irregularities.
The statement claims that the councillors unanimously voted to dismiss the new acting CEO and CFO at the fifth ordinary meeting of the year due to financial irregularities.
“This came following reports of the findings made by the Audit Subcommittee of the Council revealing that a withdrawal of D10,000 (ten thousand dalasis) on 31st July 2023, made by one Alieu Jawo was not supported with any voucher or an activity headline. In addition, a withdrawal of D40,000 (forty thousand dalasis) on 12th August 2023, made by the new Acting Chief Executive Officer Bai Gibba Sallah in collaboration with the Finance Director Lamin Jassey was not supported with any voucher or activity headline,” they said.
The Committee considered the withdrawals to be illegal robbery after the acting CEO admitted to and took full responsibility for the malpractices. They recommended that the monies be repaid and that the two officials be dismissed immediately.
“Further, the Councillors passed a resolution that a threshold from zero to one million (0 to 1,000,000) of any financial transaction should not be approved without the consent of the Chairman, and any amount beyond the maximum threshold shall be approved by only the General Council,
“Meanwhile, the Council wishes to reiterate that the former Finance Director Lamin Suso and Chief Executive Officer Ousman Touray have been sent on administrative leave since June 2023 following an earlier resolution passed by the General Council amidst their adverse mentioning in the financial malpractices of the former Council,” the statement reads.
They stated that Chairman Mahamadou Ceesay, leading the Council, reasserted their dedication to establishing a transparent and corruption-free Council as part of their efforts to rebuild public trust and confidence in the institution.