22/07/2025
During his appearance before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, the Mansakonko Area Council Chairman Landing B. Sanneh has accused his CEO Finance Director of taken loans and overdrafts without his knowledge.
He said Larger loans would be brought to his attention and sometimes to the Finance Committee of the council.
When the Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez pointed out that such actions were improper, Sanneh agreed affirming his knowledge of key governing instruments including the Financial Manual for Local Government Councils and the Local Government Finance and Audit Act.
He noted that from 2018 to 2023, no official document or council resolution defined expenditure approval thresholds as required by the financial manual.
He said the manual mandates that certain approvals should be tiered between the CEO, chairman, and council, but this was only applied âdiscretionallyâ during that period.
âFrom 2024, we have documented the thresholds, and now it is being applied as required by law. It is no more discretionarily applied.â
On financial management, the council has frequently taken overdrafts for salary payments and office expenses, contrary to the financial manual. Sanneh acknowledged awareness of some of these and agreed with Gomez that most payments bypassed the internal auditâs pre-payment approval. He attributed this to âwork cultureâ but noted it is improving.
The council received COVID-19 relief funds from the Israeli Embassy, held in a special account which was not audited.
Regarding internal audits, Sanneh confirmed the unit is functional and reported improvements since 2024, with increased compliance with audit recommendations.
Sanneh admitted the council lacks Standing Orders but said resources have recently been secured to hire someone for their preparation. When Chairperson Jainaba Bah asked why the council had not sought assistance from the Ministry of Justice for drafting Standing Orders, Sanneh said, âWe could have done that, but we did not do that. It is a lapse on our side.â
Sanneh was elected in May 2018 and re-elected in May 2023, submitted a written statement dated 10 November 2023, which was tendered and admitted as evidence.