Babucarr Ceesay, Former Head of HR and Administration at Reliance
By Fatou Sillah
Babucarr Ceesay, the former Head of Human Resources and Administration at Reliance, appeared before the local government commission of inquiry on Tuesday to testify about his involvement in a consultancy for the EU-funded Ostend Banjul Project.
During his testimony, Ceesay explained that he entered into a contract with the Banjul City Council in September 2022 to develop a Human Resources training policy. When lead counsel Patrick Gomez inquired whether he had a signed copy of the contract, Ceesay admitted he could not locate the signed document but was able to provide an unsigned version, which was subsequently submitted as evidence.
Counsel Gomez also asked how Ceesay became aware of the consultancy opportunity. The witness responded “My Friend professor Fani of the UTG informed me that the project manager Alfusainey Gano of the Ostend Banjul EU project contacted him that they are seeking proposals from qualified individuals to develop HR and training Policy at BCC under the good governance component of the EU project. I met with Mr. Gano at MDI where he informed me about the project. A day or two after he sent me an email to invite me to submit an expression of interest of which I responded, and I submitted my proposals,” He Said.
The witness presented the commission with a hard copy of the email he received from Alfusaneiy Gano, along with his response. These documents were admitted into evidence.
Counsel Gomez inquired whether the witness had been informed by Alfusaneiy Gano about the funds allocated for the consultancy.
The witness responded that he had not been informed. He explained that he simply submitted his proposal, and the amount he charged depended on the scope of the work to be done.
The witness then submitted his technical and financial proposals for the Banjul City Council Ostend EU project, which were accepted and marked as exhibits.
When asked about the payment process, the witness clarified that a 50 percent advance payment was transferred to his account, 40 percent was paid via an EcoBank check, and the remaining 10 percent was withheld as withholding tax.
The witness also provided the commission with his bank details, showing how the payments were received. These details were tendered and marked as an exhibit.