On October 12, 2023, the Basse Area Council issued a press statement announcing that its CEO and Finance Director had been removed due to financial irregularities.

According to the statement, during the fifth regular meeting of the year, the councillors unanimously decided to fire the new acting CEO and CFO owing to financial irregularities.
This followed reports of the Audit Subcommittee of the Council’s findings, which showed that a withdrawal of D10,000 (ten thousand dalasis) made on July 31, 2023, by one Alieu Jawo was not accompanied by a voucher or an activity headline. The new Acting Chief Executive Officer Bai Gibba Sallah and the Finance Director Lamin Jassey both withdrew D40,000 (forty thousand dalasis) on August 12, 2023, but neither transaction was accompanied by a voucher or activity headline, they said.

The interim CEO acknowledged and accepted full responsibility for the errors, and the Committee regarded the withdrawals as criminal robbery. They suggested that the two officials be fired right away and the money be returned.
“The Councillors also adopted a resolution stating that any financial transaction involving a sum between zero and one million ($0–$1,000,000) should not be accepted without the Chairman’s approval, and that the General Council alone should approve any amount beyond the maximum threshold.

The statement continues, “Meanwhile, the Council wishes to reiterate that the former Chief Executive Officer Ousman Touray and Finance Director Lamin Suso have been sent on administrative leave as of June 2023 pursuant to an earlier resolution passed by the General Council amidst their adverse mentioning in the financial malpractices of the former Council.”
In an attempt to restore public faith in the institution, they claimed that Chairman Mahamadou Ceesay, acting on behalf of the Council, reaffirmed their commitment to building a transparent and corruption-free Council.