A leaked memo titled “Chairman’s recommendation for the suspension of the following Staff Members” has revealed that the Chairperson of Brikama Area Council Mr Yankuba Darboe has suspended a total of 14 staff pending the outcome of an investigation. The 14 suspended staff have been alleged to have collected revenues and refused to pay them into the Council’s Accounts.
Below is the memo which was released earlier this week.
In line with the objectives of the new Council to combat corruption at BAC, this office writes to make the recommendation for the indefinite suspension of the following persons listed below until a thorough and impartial investigation can be conducted into the allegations and for the reasons expounded here under.
1. Mr Alhagie Jeng
2. Mr Sulayman Jeng
3. Mr Malick Jeng
4. Mr Omar Saidykhan
5. Mr Bai Sait Jeng
6. Mr Ebrima Jallow
7. Mr Muhammed Ebrima Jallow
1. Mr Alhagie Jeng- the Director of Finance:
Mr. Jeng has had many members of his family employed or enrolled on the council’s payroll without following due process for their employment; which is that their employments were not confirmed by the Establishment Committee. In fact, his son, Mr Bai Sait Jeng: is on the Council’s payroll and found collecting Council revenue, which has never been submitted to the Council.
I further have every reason to believe that, that was not the first time his son had done such and would have continued to do the same, if not for sheer luck of the Council and the patriotic citizens of the region, who have reported him to us, we would have never known about his collection.
We further do not know who his son had accounted for the money he had been collecting as his name is not even on the list of revenue collectors, who are required to report to the council on a weekly basis.
I further do not know how many other people are engaging in such dubious activities in cahoots with the DES without the Council’s knowledge.
Furthermore, the DFS has deliberately ensured that his son, Sulayman Jeng. and nephew, Malick Jeng, is responsible for the collection of the most lucrative revenue bases of the council, which is assigned to Sulayman Jeng and valued properties to Malick Jeng. All these assignments were done without due process.
Additionally, under his watch, as DFS, his brother-in-law, Omar Saidykhan, has been responsible for withdrawals of over DS,000.00 in 2023 alone, which has not been accounted for, meaning they were withdrawals, which were not backed by vouchers to justify them.
The internal Audit, as part of their assignment by the General Council Resolution of July 2023, made several requests for the justification of such withdrawals but to no avail.
We further believe Mr Jeng, either deliberately or otherwise, failed to hold his revenue collectors accountable for their deliberate refusal to account for their weekly collection. This has now forced the council to make late payments of salaries and on that current trend; we will soon be forced to default on salary payments.
Thus, urgent action is needed to remove Mr. Jeng from his post, in order to thoroughly investigate Mr. Jeng and to put his department for the progress of this council.
2. Mr Sulayman Jeng:
Mr Jeng was employed without due process but through nepotism, simply because of his relations to the DFS. Sulayman has also been implicated in the fraudulent collection of his brother Bai Sait Jeng.
Sulayman has also failed to make any submissions for the months of September 2023. This means he has been suppressing revenue for the months of September resulting in our late payment of salaries.
3. Mr Malick Jeng:
Mr. Jeng was also employed without due process but through his relations with the DFS.
Despite being responsible for the collection of valued properties Malick only accounted for D6,000 on 16th August 2023 and D2,000.00 on 24th August 2023. This is the only D7,000.00 he accounted for in the whole month of August 2023 and made Zero (0) submissions in the whole month of September 2023. Therefore, by suppressing our ability to pay salaries and register any development in this country.
4. Mr Omar Saidykhan:
Mr. Saidykhan is also employed by the council, without due process except due to their relations to the DFs.
Mr Saidykhan also made the following withdrawal from the council’s Vista Account on 7th June 2023: D72,000.00; D63,000.00; D450,000.00; D450,000.00; D67,500.00; on 8th June 2023: D125,000.00.
In GT Bank: 13th June D 71, 000.00 on 15th June 2023 D1,700,000.00; D 1,000,000.00.
These withdrawals for the month of June alone 2023 are all unaccountable. Thus, he needs to be immediately suspended pending a thorough investigation.
5. Mr Bai Sait Jeng:
Mr. Bai Sait Jeng has been enrolled on the Councit’s payroll without the proper process, but simply because of his relations with his father.
His issue came to the attention of the council after he was reported to the council for collecting license revenue from the council. The particular member of the Council intercepted him, during which he confirmed that he was collecting the Council’s revenue.
However, his name is not on the list of the council’s revenue collectors and thus was never accountable to the council’s auditors and has never made any payments to the council for any revenues, he had collected.
In fact, when Bai Sait Jeng was summoned by the Finance Committee, he confessed that he was not a Council staff and did not receive a Council salary, despite being on the payroll and being paid on a monthly basis. On the collection of revenue, he claims he has been accompanying his brother Sulayman Jeng.
However, on the date in question that he was caught collecting he was not with his brother, Sulayman Jeng.
Thus his account of what is happening is not accurate and the fact he is on our payroll without his knowledge is very implicating for his father, Alhagie Jeng.
6. Mr Ebrima Jallow:
Ebrima Jallow is the acting manager of License and we have already submitted a separate report to the establishment regarding Ebrima Jallow printing revenue invoices outside of the council without the knowledge of the procurement department. This is a clear violation of all the protocols and rules.
Mr Ebrima Jallow is also found to have enrolled his son, Mr Muhammed Ebrima Jallow, on the Council’s payroll, who is receiving salaries, but has never worked for the Council.
There is also information received by the Chairman’s office implicating Mr Ebrima Jallow of receiving License fees, which were not accounted to the Council. Mr. Ebrima Jallow also confirms that he has been collecting in the field, but has not been accounting such revenues to the council, as his name is not on the audit weekly collectors list. He claimed to be doing this in line with Sulayman Jeng, but Sulayman has not been paying anything to the council and has only made a total payment of only D12,000 to the Council for the months of August and September (31st August 2023- D9,000.00 and 7th September 2023).
7. Mr Muhammed Ebrima Jallow
Muhammed Ebrima Jallow is only on our payroll because his father put him there, but he is not a staff of the council and that has already been confirmed.
Thus, I recommend that his name be removed from our payroll with immediate effect.
8. Seven Additional Revenue Collectors:
These license revenue collectors are:
1. Mr Alfusainey Colley
2. Mr Assan Jassey
3. Ms Binta Fatty
4. Mr Buba Jabang
5. Mr Famara Sanyang
6. Mr Kebba Jammeh
7. Mr Momodou Lamin Saidykhan
All these collectors are found to have suppressed our revenue for the months of August and September 2023. For example for the period of 31st August 2023 – 6th September 2023:
Mr Alfusainey Colley claimed to have collected D44,000.00 and paid it into the Council’s ECO bank account, but the ECO Bank Account Statement for the same period proved that he only paid D14,000.00 into the account.
Mr Assan Jassey claimed to have collected D300,000.00 and paid it into the Council’s ECO bank account, but the ECO Bank Account Statement for the same period proved that he only paid D0.00 into the account.
Ms Binta Fatty claimed to have collected D23,000.00 and paid it into the Council’s ECO bank account, but the ECO Bank Account Statement for the same period proved that he only paid D13,000.00 into the account.
Mr. Buba Jabang claimed to have collected D23,000.00 and paid it to the Council’s ECO bank account, but the ECO Bank Account Statement for the same period proved that he only paid D0.00 into the account.
Mr. Famara Sanyang. claimed to have collected D135,000.00 and paid it into the Council’s ECO bank account, but the ECO Bank Account Statement for the same period proved that he only paid D0.00 into the account.
*Details on the Mr Kebba Jammeh and Mr Momodou Lamin Saidykhan were not visible in the memo.*
