Minister of Local Government
By Buba Gagigo
The Ministry of Local Government and Lands said it would establish a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption and malpractices at the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC).
The ministry said the Commission shall complete its inquiry within three months from its establishment, but may continue beyond such period if necessary. However, the correspondence has not made clear when the said commission for the inquiry shall be set up.
“I wish to officially inform your good office that the Hon. Minister acting in accordance with section 151(DMa) of the Local Government Act, 2002 as amended constituted a Commission of Inquiry into allegations of fraud and malpractice at the Kanifing Municipal Council from April 2018 to date and for other connected matters as reported to his office by the Lord Mayor, the CEO and the special inspection reports.
“In line with the above, your office and the general council are requested to support the process and the commission as mandated,” the ministry said in a letter written to KMC.
The ministry also notes that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice shall appoint a Lead Counsel and other officials to assist the Commission in its findings.
“The Attorney General and Minister of Justice shall appoint a Lead Counsel and such other officials to assist the Commission in its inquiry,” it added.
The Kanifing Municipal Council under Lord Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda was allegedly involved in a corruption scandal and the Deputy Mayor Musa Bah later resigned based on what the Mayor Bensouda described as “personal grounds”.
The other person mentioned in the alleged corruption was the Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Mrs. Sainabou Martin Sonko. Mrs. Sonko was alleged to have acquired a loan in the name of the council’s staff association without the knowledge or consent of the members. The embattled Sainabou Martin Sonko was later suspended by the Council, a move the Local Government Ministry described as “illegal”.
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