By: Alieu Ceesay
A two-page written statement from Nominated Councillor Bennett Marong, dated July 29, 2024, was submitted and accepted as evidence after Marong confirmed it was her statement during the ongoing local government commission hearings.
In her testimony, Marong shared her experiences representing women and children during her first term (2018-2023) and now, farmers since 2023.
In her first term, she said she actively engaged with women across wards through lady councilors and ward councilors. She noted that many women struggled with waste disposal costs and resorted to digging holes at home due to unaffordable collection fees. “I made my presentation before the general council, and it got overwhelming support,” she said. The Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) later facilitated financing options through two financial institutions to support these women’s groups.
As a KMC’s Accounts Committee member, Marong described the committee as inactive. “It was a problem,” she said, explaining that summoned individuals often failed to attend or provide documents. She testified that the committee’s recommendations received limited response from the Council. “I don’t think the Council did enough. If something is not going right, you need to do something about it,” Marong said, adding, “I think the Council should have done more to strengthen [the] committee to ensure the findings and recommendations of the auditors would be acted on.”
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez confirmed, and Marong agreed, that the lack of action had enabled ongoing audit issues, including unrecorded GTR receipts, duplication of receipt numbers, and significant cash discrepancies, with over D80,000 unaccounted for. Marong expressed regret over the dormant state of the Accounts Committee and the missed opportunities to address the Council’s financial issues: “There are so many audit findings. It is serious. I was not aware. We should have taken care of it,” she admitted.
When asked about the Education and Arts and Culture Committees, Marong described the Education Committee as active and regularly addressing complaints, such as facility needs in schools, but the Arts and Culture Committee as less active. She was asked to provide supporting evidence of this involvement.
Marong also faced questions about a D615,000 solar project, with payment records including her name. She said she did not know the contractor personally but that a friend was acquainted with them. She was shown a voucher dated July 7, 2020, for the project’s electrical work, which was admitted as evidence. The Commission noted that the contract details would be reviewed in detail.
Additionally, Marong described her participation in a 25-day market inspection involving 26 councilors, noting her work in Bakau Market under Councillor Lamin Dibba. Despite Councillor Karamo Ceesay’s testimony that councilors signed for all days on a single occasion, she insisted she had signed in each day. She said she participated in the exercise and was paid for it.
