By Mama A. Touray
Former Chief Executive Officer of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), Sainabou Martin Sonko, has accused KMC of deleting financial records from the system.
Sonko’s allegations came during her testimony on December 16 before the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry.
She reported an incident in which the financial records of the Kanifing Municipal Council were deleted from the system. Sainabou told the commission that she advised the Council that the system developer should be questioned for an explanation regarding the deletions.
At that time, the deputy director of finance, Sheriff Njie, wrote a letter addressing the issue of the deleted financial records. This letter was submitted as evidence before the commission. It indicated that over D297,000 worth of receipts had been deleted and noted that while the monies had been received, they had not been deposited in the bank.
During this incident, Sainabou Martin served as the CEO of the Kanifing Municipal Council and informed the commission that the matter had been forwarded to the Establishment and Appointment Committee of the KMC.
“Sheriff Njie was tasked to engage the system developer. The matter was not resolved until I left the KMC,” she said.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez asked Martin: “There was enough time to discuss and address the issue. What was holding you as the CEO to address the issue?”
“I was waiting for the [decision of] Establishment and Appointment Committee,” Martin answered.
Lead Counsel Gomez then told her that “seven months was enough time to address the issue”.
Martin, however, maintained her position that she was waiting for the Establishment and Appointment Committee.
She acknowledged that the issue had never been addressed during her tenure and admitted that she did not take any proactive steps to tackle the matter. She also noted that the Mayor did not take the reported corruption issue seriously.
