Commission Demands Vouchers from Former BCC CEO for Over D1.5 Million in Unaccounted Withdrawals
By Makutu Manneh
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry has called on Mustapha Batchily, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Banjul City Council (BCC), to produce vouchers for withdrawals totaling D1,536,590 that remain unaccounted for.
According to Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez, a special audit of BCC covering the period from 2021 to 2022 revealed that the amount in question was withdrawn from the Council’s Trust Bank account by Deputy Finance Director Muhammed Cham.
The audit further highlighted that these withdrawals were neither recorded in the council’s cash book nor supported by any documentation. Additionally, the report noted that no bank reconciliation statements were available to justify the transactions.
Mr. Batchily, who served as CEO at the time of the transactions, acknowledged authorizing the payments.
“Then there will be vouchers for these. We will need all the supporting documents for these payments,” Counsel Gomez told Batchily, who proceeded to note down the request.
Referencing a specific instance from the audit report, Counsel Gomez stated, “For instance, on 8th of January 2021, a cheque was paid to Muhammed Cham for One Hundred and Forty-nine Thousand, Three Hundred Dalasi, and there are ten cheques altogether, which will give you the total of One Million Five Hundred and Thirty-six Thousand Five Hundred and Ninety Dalasi. Did you look into this matter as CEO?” Counsel Gomez asked Batchily.
Batchily responded in the affirmative, adding that, “Cham’s side of the story was that some of these payments made in his name were for things like salaries, wages, and pensions and subsequently some areas were looked into and he was able to provide answers to some of the areas in that line of query.”
He told the commission it would be important if they could look into some of that information as a follow-up to the audit query.
The inquiry continues as the Commission seeks clarity on the financial management of public funds during Batchily’s tenure.