Africa-Press – Gambia. The former Chairperson of the Kerewan Area Council, Malamin I.L. Bojang has admitted before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that more than D1.3 million in public funds went unaccounted for during his tenure due to financial irregularities and failures in procurement oversight.
Appearing before the Commission on Wednesday, the former Chairperson confirmed that direct transfers amounting to D459,491 and another sum of D863,568.84 were never recorded in the Council’s cash book and did not appear in the financial statements. When asked whether he ever sought an explanation from the Council’s executive or the Finance Director about the missing funds, the former Chairperson conceded he did not ensure proper accountability.
“It is really humiliating to have such results from an accounting officer,” he told the Commission, admitting that as head of the Council, he was responsible for supervising the Finance Director and revenue collectors. He said the issue was discussed with the Council and would provide minutes of meetings showing how the matter was resolved.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez pressed him on his responsibilities, reminding him that the Local Government Act empowers a chairperson to supervise the general administration of the area council and ensure compliance with laws and procedures. The former Chairperson admitted that despite repeated audit reports raising concerns, he never reviewed the Council’s procurement activities.
He also acknowledged that the Council’s establishment committee, which is supposed to discipline staff involved in acts of misappropriation, failed to take meaningful action beyond transferring some staff from one post to another.
The witness described how the lack of financial accountability directly impacts local communities, many of which still struggle for clean drinking water despite counterpart funding for water supply projects. He noted that while millions were allocated to tackle water shortages, some communities still rely on unsafe wells.
In his testimony, the former Chairperson defended his office’s efforts to gather community priorities but admitted that poor planning, supervision, and needs assessments weakened the impact of projects.
He promised to submit additional documents to the Commission next week Thursday to support his testimony.
The revelations come as the Commission intensifies its probe into area councils nationwide, investigating claims of widespread mismanagement, poor oversight, and the misuse of public funds meant to improve basic services.
Hearings continue this week with more senior officials expected to testify.
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