Africa-Press – Gambia. Banjul Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe appeared before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry to address questions surrounding the payment of D200,000 for the upgrade of her flight ticket from economy to business class.
The Commission’s Lead Counsel questioned the mayor: “There was a time Two Hundred Thousand Dalasi was paid to you through Fatou Mbenga for you to upgrade your flight ticket from economy to business class. Why was this?”
In response, Mayor Lowe explained that the payment related to a multi-leg official trip from Kenya to Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, and eventually back to The Gambia.
“So the tickets were all given to me by the company,” she stated. “So because of the travel. It is long. I decided to travel some in economy class and some in business class.”
She clarified that the upgrades could not be arranged in The Gambia, so the Banjul City Council provided her with an imprest to make the necessary changes at the airports during her travels. She recalled making one such upgrade in Kenya.
Upon returning from the trip, Mayor Lowe said she completed the retirement process and submitted all related receipts to Mustapha Batchilly, who was serving as BCC’s Chief Executive Officer at the time.
However, when Counsel Patrick Gomez questioned Batchilly about the receipts, he denied receiving any.
“No, I did not see any receipt,” Batchilly told the Commission.
Gomez then informed the mayor that Batchilly had previously given the same answer when questioned on the matter. He advised her to provide any receipts she might still have.
Mayor Lowe maintained that the money had been refunded and said: “I told you we have to refund the Two Hundred Thousand and Fatou brought the receipt to the commission.”
Counsel Gomez acknowledged the receipt but raised concerns over the timeline of the transaction. “The refund is 2024. This transaction happened in 2022. Two years or so and we don’t have evidence of an upgrade.”
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate financial and administrative irregularities within local councils across The Gambia.
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