By Mama A. Touray
Anna Jatta, the rates and license revenue collector for Brikama Area Council, admitted during the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry that she used D29,500 from council funds for her operation.
Anna made this admission when Deputy Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez informed her about an internal audit finding that highlighted her failure to deposit Twenty-Nine Thousand Five Hundred Dalasi (D29,500).
When asked about the shortage, she explained, “It is true. At that time, I was sick and needed an operation. Therefore, my work schedule was not consistent, and I sometimes stayed for a week or more without going to work.”
Counsel Gomez then pointed out, “So you decided to use the money for your operation?” to which she replied, “Yes.”
It was discovered that Anna Jatta collected One Million Five Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand Five Hundred Dalasi (D1,542,500) between April and July 2022.
“Mrs. Jatta, you know what you did was wrong. This is public funds, and you were supposed to deposit it in the bank. You were not supposed to use it,” Counsel Patrick Gomez remarked, to which Jatta responded, “Yes, I know.”
The witness claimed that she deposited all the sums of money she collected, but Counsel Gomez confronted her with the cash book and bank deposits, showing that there were substantial sums of money she did not deposit in the accounts of the Brikama Area Council, which she admitted.
The audit findings revealed that in one transaction, Anna collected D13,500 in August 2022, of which she deposited only D7,000. Similarly, in another transaction in August the same year, she collected D53,000 and deposited D52,000.
Further investigations showed that in the same month, Anna collected D9,500, of which she deposited D7,000, and there were other transactions in the cash book following the same trend.
At this point, Anna Jatta admitted that she did not deposit the entire sum she collected.
It was also revealed that she collected D83,000 in June but deposited only D40,000, which she later supplemented with deposits of D15,000 and D13,500.
Gomez questioned her about the remaining balance, asking, “What happened to the balance? Why did you not deposit the entire amount of money collected?” Anna replied, “I used the money.”
Meanwhile, Anna testified that she applied for a loan of D70,000, of which the Council granted her D40,000. She clarified that she did not sign any documents for the loan except for the request letter she sent regarding the loan.
She provided bank deposit slips and a receipt from the Brikama Area Council regarding the D29,500 shortage, with the BAC receipt dated 8 February 2024.
Three deposit slips from Eco Bank were submitted by the witness as evidence, showing deposits of D14,000 on 30 November 2023, D8000 on 21 December 2023, and D29,500 on 8 February 2024.
