By Mama A. Touray
The former finance manager of Brikama Area Council, Lamin Suso, continued his testimony before the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry, focusing on the D1.6 million auction transaction flagged by auditors as problematic.
Suso, who was the cashier of the auction committee, addressed the findings of the Principal Auditor, Sulayman Barry, who conducted a systems audit on the council’s auction transactions. The audit report highlighted that Suso had retained D103,000 personally, while D1.6 million remained unaccounted for.
Disputing these findings, Suso stated, “That’s not true,” asserting that he possesses evidence contradicting the audit report. He acknowledged discrepancies in his initial statement, admitting that he did not have access to the report at the time. He said, “Yes, that is correct, the statement was wrong at the time. I did not see the report that time.”
Regarding the payment details, Suso explained that on January 25, 2020, he received D15,000, D50,000, and D40,000, followed by D100,000 on January 27, and another D100,000 on January 28. He claimed to have deposited D760,000 on January 28 and D40,000 on January 31, totaling D1,000,000.
However, when questioned about the remaining balance, Suso acknowledged a shortfall of D229,000 and admitted his inability to trace it through the deposits. He mentioned missing bank deposit slips and the absence of the committee’s report.
Despite claiming receipts totaling D702,450 on January 26, Suso struggled to reconcile the discrepancies between his reported receipts and deposited amounts, admitting a lack of evidence regarding the deposited monies.
Lead Counsel Gomez pressed Suso on the absence of evidence supporting his deposits, to which Suso agreed, acknowledging the gaps in his report regarding the money’s whereabouts. He said, “Counsel, I don’t have it.”
