By: Dawda Baldeh
Several councillors of the Banjul City Council (BCC) have unanimously denied claims of Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe that the BCC councillors are paid 3000 dalasis per budget sitting. The councillors denied these claims at a press conference held at McCarthy Square on Thursday 15th December 2022.
The event was witnessed by Basiru Ndow, the chairman of the BCC finance committee, Mahmoud Ceesay, chairman of the Religious Committee, Abdoulie Boss Gaye, Member and Co-chair of the finance committee, Abdul Aziz Gaye, Waste and Means Committee chairman, Tunko Jammeh, Culture chairman committee, and Momodou Bah, Youths and Sports committee chairman.
These various chairpersons of the different committees who are councillors of the different wards said the finance committee’s mandate is to regulate, formulate, approve and execute a budget that is passed by the committee.
“All councillors are not paid salaries, but they are paid an allowance. The claims are not true. No one is receiving 3000 dalasis per budget sitting. We are only paid 1,500 per sitting which is in the local government act.
“For the mayor to make such claims are incorrect. And if anyone denied this, I would ask the internal auditor of the council to clear the air. Papers will never lie,” Basiru Ndow BCC finance committee chairman threatened.
The councillors also accused Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe of misusing the council’s funds by embarking on travels that are funded by the council without due process.
“Recently, she travelled to the US, her trip was funded by the council to the tune of D200,000 without any invitation. She should be the one to refund the council’s money.”
Basiru Ndow, Chairman of the BCC finance committee said they have a mandate. “It is our responsibility to look after the budget that we approved,” he claimed. According to the councillors, they are supposed to get the budget early so that they can do the needful.
“We have to look at the revenue and how the expenditure is going on. We are trying to finalize the budget but there is a delay in making a budget. What delay the budget is not about allowance as claimed by the mayor,” Basiru Ndow added.
They told journalists that they are working tirelessly to ensure that the 2023 budget is not jeopardized.
“We are working on a 168 million dalasis budget for the entire Banjul, and we need to take time. That’s why we couldn’t approve the 2023 budget draft or make recommendations,” he explained.
The councillors also made several allegations about the BCC mayor and how her office is operating. Abdoulie Boss Gaye, the co-chair of the BCC finance committee, said people need to be very careful in making allegations.
“We cannot continue campaigning even after elections are over. The budget should have been given to us mid-year for scrutinising it. We were trying to speed up things contrary to what the mayor said we were seating on the budget,” he said.
Mr Gaye told journalists that the mayor has no sole authority to singularly make decisions as per the local government act. According to him, the committee was looking into the staff payroll, especially the frontline workers.
“We felt that they deserve more of what council has to give because they are the ones in the sun doing the hard work and we realize they were paid a very small amount.”
Mr Gaye stated that a general council resolution was taken to send the budget to the finance committee to do the “clean up” before bringing it back to the general council for consideration and approval on the 1st of December.
