By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
During the Commission of Inquiry into the Local Government Council, Lamin Susso, the former Acting Director of Finance for the Basse Area Council, confessed to sharing the Gambia government’s D2 million subvention money with Ousman Touray, the former CEO of the council, in December 2021.
This decision was made during an unrecorded meeting between the two individuals. The money was intended for development purposes, but instead, the duo used it as credit.
The duo, Mr Susso and Ousman Touray, have been the most mentioned names in the Basse Area Council financial embezzlement scandal since the commencement of the commission, warranting the council to send them on administrative leave pending investigation.
The Gambia Government, on the 17th of December 2021, gave an amount of two million dalasis through Trust Bank to the Basse Area Council as a subvention. The auditors noted that Ndabah Krubally, the cashier, immediately withdrew 1.3 million dalasis and made several other withdrawals from the said sum that was meant to be used for the development of the Upper River Region.
According to Susso, the money, which was meant for a specific project, was withdrawn because their accounts were seriously in debt.
He said when the money was paid to the bank, he had a meeting with the CEO, Ousman Touray about the subvention money which was never recorded. They decided to credit themselves one hundred thousand each.
“I used the one hundred thousand (D100,000) to settle the CEO’s liability. The CEO credited a friend of mine, and the person was asking for his money.
“We have decided, and the CEO promised that he was going to pay the money back in the shortest period,” he told the commission.
Cashier Ndabah Krubally testified that he withdrew 1.3 million dalasis from the subvention money and deposited eight hundred thousand dalasis (D800,000) to the Vista Bank account and three hundred thousand (D300,000) to the Supersonicz Micro-Finance account.
He further testified to have given one hundred thousand dalasis (D100,000) to the CEO Ousman Touray as impress and another one hundred thousand dalasis (D100,000) to the Director of Finance Lamin Suso, with the Director of Finance receiving a further one hundred and fifty thousand dalasis (D150,000).
He said the withdrawal was made based on the directives of the CEO and Finance Director Lamin Suso. For the one hundred thousand dalasis (D100,000) deposited into his account by Ndabah Krubally, Lamin Suso said it was meant for the repayment of the loan the CEO owed one Abdoulie Saidykhan.
After his response, Counsel Patrick Gomez told him that he and the CEO shared the money meant for the Council and Susso responded “Yes.”
He further accepted that his action with the CEO was the height of dishonesty as put to him by the council.
He further shared with the counsel that he would repay the one hundred thousand dalasis loan at the end of this month.
Susso is currently on administrative leave due to his alleged involvement in multiple financial fraud in the council. He was reported to have deposited six-million-dalasi council money in his personal account, which the council confirmed to be true.
In June this year, Suso and the CEO were sent on an administrative leave.
