The Local Government Commission of Inquiry has commenced looking into the double payment request by Amie Bensouda & Co. law firm for the same transaction.
Three (3) witnesses testified regarding that transaction. They were Alieu Cham – a former principal accountant and debt collector for Amie Bensouda’s law office, Ebrima S.K. Fofana – former Internal Auditor of KMC and Basirou Njie – an audit assistant.
Juana Hall, a former accountant of Gamcel was hired by the KMC to work for the council as finance director. The KMC was supposed to pay her bond fees to Gamcel for an amount of One Hundred and Fifty-Four Thousand Dalasi (D154,000). The Commission noted that the payment was made twice, and the witnesses all confirmed that fact.
Alieu Cham is engaged in agribusiness. His statement dated August 1st 2024 was tendered and admitted in evidence. He was the principal accountant and debt collector for the Amie Bensouda and Co legal firm also known as AB & Co.
The witness was questioned about the liability of Juana Hall to Gamcel, which the KMC intervened and paid to AB & Co.
Alieu Cham said he received a cheque from the KMC with respect to that payment on behalf of AB & Co. He added that the cheque was supposedly for Gamcel. He testified that Amie Bensouda’s name was on the cheque.
“Amie Bensouda’s name was scratched and Gamcel was written,” he said.
He said usually payments are made to Amie Bensouda and Co. and then the law firm would issue a cheque to that institution.
“I cannot recall why our name, Amie Bensouda and Co. was scratch,” he said.
The cheque payment was D154,000. The witness said he cannot remember how the transaction ended.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez provided a payment voucher from the KMC, which Alieu Cham identified. The witness confirmed that he received the cheque in that voucher. He added that he could not recall whether AB & Co made payment to Gamcel. The payment voucher was tendered and admitted in evidence. It was dated 21 March 2019. It was accompanied with the cheque and a request letter from AB & Co. The letter sent by AB & Co. was addressed to the CEO of the KMC.
“You would have received D154,000 as full payment?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
“Yes,” the witness answered.
The witness was handed another payment voucher of 2019 with a letter from AB & Co. accompanying it. The letter was dated 10 March 2019. The voucher also had a Gamcel receipt, a letter of resignation by Juana Hall and a letter from KMC to Gamcel. The amount on the voucher was D54,000. They were all admitted in evidence.
The witness said the cheque in the second voucher was paid directly to Gamcel and it was dated 7 May 2019. The amount was D54,000. The witness admitted at the time at the time of the second voucher, the full payment was already made and received by Amie Bensouda & Co.
The witness was asked whether he did verification of the payments.
“I was not aware of the payment to Gamcel,” he said.
He testified that he received instruction from his superior to make the requests and he acted on it. He said the only payment that he was aware of was the one he received. He admitted that Amie Bensouda’s office made two requests for the same payment. He further admitted that at the time of making the second request for the same amount (D154,000), KMC had already fully paid Gamcel.
The evidence is that Juana Hall was a senior accountant of Gamcel. The KMC wrote to Gamcel informing them that they will pay D154,000 to offset her bond to allow her serve the council. In 2014, D100,000 was paid to Gamcel as evidence by a Gamcel receipt and in 2019, the balance of D54,000 was paid to Gamcel through a cheque.
The description on the KMC payment voucher indicated that “liability on behalf of Juana Hall.”
Amie Bensouda’s law firm wrote another request of the same amount of D154,000 for the same Juana Hall and the payment was made by the KMC.
“Are you suprised?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked the former accountant for Amie Bensouda’s law firm.
“Yes,” Alieu Cham said.
“Why?” Gomez asked.
The witness shifted the blame to his superiors at the AB &CO.
“That was not my responsibility,” he said.
Basirou Njie, an internal audit staff of the KMC and Ebrima S. K Fofana, a former internal audit director of the KMC appeared jointly.
The two were asked about the payments made with respect to Juana Hall. The payments have the stamp of the Internal Audit Department of the KMC. The two payment vouchers were handed to them.
Fofana, the former director of internal audit indicated that he recognized the two vouchers.
“What can you tell us about the payment of the liability of Juana Hall by the KMC?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
Fofana said he was the one who endorsed one of the vouchers and the second voucher was endorsed by his assistant. This means two vouchers were approved by the internal audit department for the same payment based on the two requests from AB & Co.
“These two vouchers is an indication that there was a duplication of payment. It was an oversight on our side,” former audit director Fofana said.
He stated that there was a communication breakdown between him and his junior. He stated that this could have been avoided. Asked how, he testified that the Internal Audit Unit should have a database to verify payments before approving it. He said they do not have a database. He added that the department of finance, who brought them the requests, should have known that payment cannot be sanctioned twice.
Lead Counsel Gomez informed the two auditors that in 2014, Gamcel received D100,000 from the KMC and there is a cheque in 2019 for the D54,000 that offset the liability. He added that the D54,000 cheque was in the name of Gamcel. After the full payment was made to Gamcel, Amie Bensouda and Co wrote a letter dated 10 July 2018 letter indicating that they acknowledged the payment of D100,00 made to Gamcel and there remains a balance of D54,000. The balance of D54,000 was later paid through a cheque to Gamcel.
Interestingly, on 12 March 2019, AB & Co. wrote to the KMC requesting the payment of D154,000 to Gamcel relating to the same liability of Juana Hall to Gamcel. At the time, Gamcel was fully paid at the time. Despite this, the KMC issued a cheque making another payment of D154,000.
The audit assistant, Basirou Njie, admitted it was a “big oversight” on his part. He testified that it was wrong for him to approve the second payment when the KMC had already made the full payment.
Commissioner Oreme E. Joiner asked the witnesses whether they register payments they receive or approve, both of them said they do not maintain a register or keep records of payments.