By: Mama A. Touray
Brikama Area Council revenue collector, Mama Kinteh, testified before the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry that the BAC director of finance, Alagie Jeng, instructed her to bring collections to the council instead of depositing them into the council’s account.
She made this statement when asked about the collections, stating that she is new to the council and her instruction was to collect and bring the monies to the council. “The Director of Finance was the person who instructed me to bring the collections to the council,” she said.
Mama was referred to the Financial Manual for Local Government Councils, which requires her to deposit all collections daily. She was also told that the law did not permit her to give any person her collections.
Reacting to this, Mama responded, “I was new there and I felt that I had the duty to follow the instructions of my bosses.” Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez told her, “You knew what you were doing was wrong and you knew exactly what you were doing.”
“Yes, I knew that I had to deposit the monies in the bank. I could not go against my boss’s instruction. I have all the receipts with me,” Mama admitted.
She continued, “Sometimes when they wanted to make payments, they would call me to bring cash to the council, and Lamin Kantong Kanteh would give me a receipt. All the monies were given to Alagie Jeng, and I have receipts for them,” she said.
