Africa-Press – Gambia. The Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, July 1, questioned Mustapha Batchily, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Banjul City Council (BCC), over the appointment of Maget Samba, the protocol officer to Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe, and the provision of fuel allowances associated with the role.
When asked whether Samba was entitled to receive fuel allocations, Batchily explained that, according to administrative guidelines, only officers on Grade 8 or above are eligible for such benefits. However, he stated that he could not recall whether Samba met this requirement, as his appointment was based on a contractual arrangement.
This prompted Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez to probe the legality of Samba’s appointment. He asked Batchily why the protocol officer was employed on a contractual basis.
Batchily responded that the appointment did not receive prior approval from the Local Government Service Commission. He explained that delays from the Commission in responding to vacancy submissions forced him to fill key positions—such as Samba’s—on a contract basis.
“If you don’t have the authority of the local government service commission to approve this application, then you will not have the authority to also appoint on contract,” Counsel Gomez pointed out.
In his defense, Batchily claimed that several high-grade vacancies sent to the Commission had gone unaddressed for months, necessitating interim appointments.
Gomez countered that this made the situation worse, not better: “If there were no Service Commission in place, one could argue your actions were unlawful but perhaps well-intentioned. But given that the Commission exists, it’s not your role to usurp its responsibilities.”
Batchily acknowledged the counsel’s point but insisted that such interim appointments were a practical necessity in certain cases. However, Gomez maintained that Batchily had no legal authority to make such appointments.
“BCC appointed many people, and we think most of them are unlawful, like Macumba Sanneh, an adviser to the Banjul city Council. You do this at the expense of the people of Banjul and Gambia because they don’t have equal opportunity,” Gomez asserted.
Batchily replied,“Now in the case of the mayor’s protocol, Maget Samba, he was brought in by the mayor. The mayor was saying I need a protocol; I have to have a protocol officer. So in those circumstances, what we could do as an administration is just to give him a contract since we have not heard from the Local Government Service Commission. That was the rationale.”
When asked whether the General Council approved Samba’s appointment, Batchily stated that the matter was handled by the Establishment Committee, not the full council. He acknowledged that no general council resolution was passed and that the role was created in response to a direct request from the mayor.
Counsel Gomez pressed further, leading Batchily to concede that the position was indeed created to serve the mayor’s interests.
The Commission has now requested that Batchily submit documentation related to Samba’s appointment—including the letter sent to the Service Commission, the issued contract, and all other contracts awarded by the BCC since 2018, including that of Macumba Sanneh.
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