More than seven Brikama Area Council (BAC) employees who had been suspended are now required to return to work by the Local Government Service Commission.

These people were originally suspended by the council on charges of stifling council income, but the Commission’s inquiry revealed no misconduct on their side.

The Commission named the seven license collectors in detail, claiming that they were not found guilty of the purported income suppression: Binta Fatty, Famara Sanyang, Alfusainey Colley, Buba Jabang, Modou L. Saidykhan, Assan Jassey, and Kebba Jammeh. As a result, the Commission has directed them to promptly resume their individual roles.

The following seven license collectors, who were accused of stifling Council income, were declared not guilty, according to the Commission’s conclusions. As a result, the Commission has directed that they all return to work right now. According to the local government services commission, they are: Binta Fatty, Famara Sanyang, Alfusainey Colley, Buba Jabang, Modou L. Saidykhan, Assan Jassey, and Kebba Jammeh.

Nonetheless, Bai Sait Jeng and Muhammad Ebrima Jallow’s employment should be terminated, according the Local Government Service Commission’s recommendation. After it was discovered that these people had been appointed without following the proper procedures, the panel recommended that they be immediately removed off the Council’s payroll.

They said, “Their services should be terminated immediately and their names removed from Council’s payroll, since the circumstances surrounding such appointments were wrong.”

The panel also looked into how Director of Administration Ebrima Sawaneh and Director of Finance Alhagie Jeng were involved in Bai Sait Jeng and Muhammad Ebrima Jallow’s erroneous appointments. Ebrima Sawaneh was strongly cautioned against sending appointment letters without following the proper procedures, and Alhagie Jeng, who was found to be the mastermind behind the appointments, was suspended without pay for a month.
The service commission said, “As a result, Mr. Alhagie Jeng, who organized their appointments, is to be suspended for one (1) month without pay, and Mr. Ebrima Sawaneh is to be strongly cautioned to refrain from issuing appointment letters without following due process.”

In response to accusations made against Alhagie Jeng for placing close relatives (Omar Saidykhan, Malik Jeng, and Sulayman Jeng) in positions of authority within the Finance Department, the commission determined that there was undue influence but no direct accountability. Mr. Jeng has been advised to desist from such behavior as a consequence, and his close family members will be transferred to other Councils.
The Commission decided that Mr. Jeng should get a strong warning to stop engaging in such unethical behavior when it was discovered that it was unethical for him to have his close relatives work for his department. According to the service commission, “The Commission will reallocate his close relatives to other Councils.”

The commission also made it clear that Omar Saidykhan was not found guilty of any wrongdoings in June 2023 since the money that was taken out was correctly accounted for. In a similar vein, Alhagie Malick Jeng was not connected to any income suppression in September 2023 when he was on yearly leave.
According to an examination of his cash book, Sulayman Jeng was not found to have suppressed income as had been claimed. It was discovered, nonetheless, that he had given Bai Sait Jeng, who was tasked with collecting money from him, his receipt book.

He should so be strongly cautioned to stop handing his receipt book to anyone, according to the service commission.

Ebrima Jallow, the license manager, was finally exonerated by the commission of charges pertaining to income suppression, emphasizing that he is not a collector and does not sign receipt books. He was warned against secretly photocopying bills without following the correct processes, nevertheless, and it has been suggested that he send a warning letter.
Without consulting the Procurement Unit, it was discovered that he had secretly photocopied invoices for D2, 500 (two thousand and five hundred dalasis). The Commission also said that as the Council did not incur the aforementioned charge, he should accept full responsibility for any liability resulting from his failure to follow the correct procedures when duplicating the bills. Accordingly, he need to get a warning letter telling him to stop doing this and return to his job, the Service Commission said.

The Local Government Service Commission made several observations to the council based on their findings and recommendations. These included stressing the need of directly involving staff members, making sure resolutions are accompanied by preliminary reports, and abstaining from putting resolutions into action before final decisions are made.

It is recommended that staff members who are accused of malpractices be confronted face-to-face and given a fair trial before any choices or resolutions are made.

• A draft report on the conclusions reached shall be included to resolutions concerning suspected malpractices that are presented to the Commission.
  They stated, “Council should refrain from putting into effect resolutions that have been submitted to the Commission for consideration even before a final decision is made.”