By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
As the leadership crisis deepens at the Kuntaur Area Council, the General Council has passed an emergency resolution giving the embattled Chairman Saihou Jawara a 24-hour ultimatum to immediately return to work or risk his position as Chairman of one of the poorest councils in the country.
Sources familiar with the Council’s Tuesday General Council meeting told TAT they had passed a resolution giving the ‘run-away’ Chairman Saihou Jawara a 24-hour request to return to work or declare his seat vacant.
One source says the decision follows the persistent absence of the embattled Chairman of the Local Government Act. The Council expressed grave concern that it has been over four months since the Chairman failed to return to work without genuine reason to advance to the advanced.
The Banni Ward Councillor and Councilor Momodou Barry of Kuntaur Ward all confirmed the passing of the resolution calling on the Chairman to return to work in 24 hours by 31 January 2024.
“It’s true that we passed a resolution today, 30 January 2024, where we (General Council) gave Chairman Saihou Jawara 24 hours to return to work by 31 January 2024. We agreed that if Chairman Jawara fails to come by this day, we will declare the seat vacant and call for a by-election for the region.” Sorry, Darboe, Councilor Kuntaur told TAT.
He added, “The General Council has considered the appeal made by Chairman Saihou Jawara to extend his stay to 31 January, and if he fails to show up, then we will be left with no option other than to call for a by-election. The Council sponsors the trip of the Chairman and the CEO of the Council, but since October, CEO Momodou Sambou has been back, but the Chairman has yet to come, thus keeping the Council at ransom.
Momodou Barry, Councilor Kuntaur Ward, said that if Chairman Jawara does not come by 31 January 2024, his seat will be declared vacant.
According to him, the embattled Chairman was given fourteen days to attend the Conference of Mayors in the US with CEO Momodou Sambou but has yet to return to work after completing his US trip.
The General Council unanimously agreed that if Chairman Jawara could not show up for work on Wednesday, the Council would write to all stakeholders to notify them of the seat vacancy and set a by-election date.
