Every day revenue collector Lamin Saidy has made a reappearance before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry at the Brikama market.
On Thursday, July 31, 2024, Mr. Saidy told the Commission during his prior evidence that Yankuba Kujabi, the market master, held his cashbook.
Since then, the Commission has mandated that the market master appear before the Commission on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, alongside Saidy; however, on that same day, Saidy made a solo reappearance and brought his cashbook, which covered the period from February 4, 2021, to February 24, 2022.
He further told the Commission that, since he began working for the Council, he had never before received a cashbook.
Lead Counsel Gomez questioned him about why he stopped making entries in the cashbook in February 2022 and why no entries were made in the months that followed.
In his explanation before the Commissioners, the witness stated that he does not enter the collections into the cashbook and that he has receipts for each one. He also added that he stopped the entry because he was told they would receive a formula to enter the revenue when the Council gave them the revenue collection machines.
He claimed he stopped entering money in his cashbook since the council had not provided them with a formula for their entries.
“When was the machine given to you?” inquired Counsel Gomez.
The witness stated that he was unable to recall when he was given the equipment.
The witness agreed with Counsel Gomez when she told him that the collectors received the machines in 2020.
The witness insisted that he halted the input because of the machines when Counsel Gomez questioned him about the entries in his cash book for the years 2921 and 2022. In response, Counsel Gomez stated that the Commission would be able to view his transactions made into the Council’s bank account in relation to the receipts he had. He claimed to be depositing his earnings into the Vista Bank account and that he had just lately begun to deposit earnings into the GT bank account.
The witness was instructed by the Commission to bring his cashbook and receipts to the Finance Unit for reconciliation and to come back before the Commission.
The sittings go on.