By: Dawda Baldeh
A group of councillors in the Kanifing Municipality headed by Karamo Ceesay, councillor for Talinding South Ward, who doubles as the chairman of the finance and revenue committee have refuted corruption allegations labelled against KMC Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, yesterday by Yankuba Colley, the former mayor under the APRC.
Mr. Colley asserted that Talib Ahmed Bensouda don’t know his staff and they can’t access him anytime without booking an appointment.
“Talib doesn’t know his staff because he doesn’t interact with them. Bensouda has destroyed the council and he cannot bring any development to the council,” said Yankuba Colley.
They described the allegations as “un-factual and misleading” and urged people to distance themselves from such claims, saying they are politically motivated.
“During Yankuba Colley’s tenure, individuals were collecting monthly salaries without offering any services to the council. They are ghost workers who will come to the council every month to collect salaries claiming they are the council’s staff.
Evidence obtained at the press conference reveals that from 2014 to 2016 individuals’ councils and other members request payment for a birthday celebration.
“Modou Lamin Badjie former, councillor of Ebo-town, requested cheque number 006 from Zenith Bank Ltd voucher no PV150391 dated 21st May 2015 at the tune of D260, 000.00 plus annual expenses of five hundred thousand dalasis independence celebration in a form of impress,” Karamo Ceesay revealed, adding that the same people were requesting D500, 000.00 annually between 2014 to 2016.
At a press conference yesterday, the former Mayor of KMC Yankuba Colley dismissed Mayor Bensouda’s claims that when he assumed office the council was having a debt of nine million dalasis (D9, 000,000.00) “The council is currently having (D15, 000, 000.00) more than fifteen million dalasis,” Mr. Colley claimed.
These comments triggered the councillors to respond on behalf of their boss who is currently engaged. They accused the former KMC mayor and his people of paying monies to guests from Casamance who came for an independence celebration at the tune of D512, 400 and they were lodged at Badala Park.
“They used taxpayers’ money to buy already used vehicles which is against the procurement act which “taxpayers’ money cannot be used to buy used vehicles.”
“Most of those vehicles are not road worthy and they haven’t used them to collect waste since they were purchased,” Karamo Ceesay told journalists.
According to them, Ousman Rambo Jatta received a sum of D230, 000.00 from KMC for a community radio station in 2016 through the Sanyang Kunda enterprise which they said was owned and operated by a nominated councillor Modou Lamin Sanyang.
“Mr. Rambo is not a registered vendor and since some equipment has been delivered while others are still not delivered,” Mr. Ceesay added.
The councillors said Mayor Bensouda has never belittled any staff at the council. “The appointments are made for the mayor to be accessible to the people and this is done because the mayor doesn’t want his office to be chaotic,” Ceesay refuted assertions that the mayor is not accessible.
According to the councillors, if the office of the mayor is left accessible to all at any time it will be difficult for him to concentrate and deliver. “This is why there are days allocated for people who want to see him. The Mayor works from Monday to Saturday,” he added.
