Alagie I. Sowe says he did nothing wrong after the Banjul City Council suspended him from his job as a revenue collector in 2018. People claimed he stole money—over 850,000 dalasis—but he denies it completely. His case has started a big argument about how fair the audit process really is and whether the financial problems were handled right.
The accusations against Sowe say he failed to put 172,000 dalasis in the bank. National audit reports from 2017 and 2018 also questioned another 678,540 dalasis. Sowe recently spoke to the Local Government Commission of Inquiry and told them these problems came from simple audit questions, not from him stealing any money.
Sowe explained that audits happened every six months, and mistakes often showed up because of posting errors in the reports. He always got draft reports to check, and he always gave them all his paperwork - deposit slips, receipts, everything they asked for. But Sowe says they never let him see the final audit report, no matter how many times he asked.
He tried many times to fix things at the audit office, but nobody helped him. Nobody ever showed him what the final report said. The management did nothing until they suddenly gave him a suspension letter in September 2018. Musa Batchilly ran things as CEO then. Sowe believes they suspended him without talking to him properly about what the audit found.
Sowe plans to come back and testify more to clear his name. He wants to prove these money problems happened because auditors didn't finish their job right. The case keeps going, and Sowe still says he's innocent. Whatever happens next should show if there were big problems with how they conducted audits, if Sowe really was treated unfairly, or if someone actually stole money from the department.
The accusations against Sowe say he failed to put 172,000 dalasis in the bank. National audit reports from 2017 and 2018 also questioned another 678,540 dalasis. Sowe recently spoke to the Local Government Commission of Inquiry and told them these problems came from simple audit questions, not from him stealing any money.
Sowe explained that audits happened every six months, and mistakes often showed up because of posting errors in the reports. He always got draft reports to check, and he always gave them all his paperwork - deposit slips, receipts, everything they asked for. But Sowe says they never let him see the final audit report, no matter how many times he asked.
He tried many times to fix things at the audit office, but nobody helped him. Nobody ever showed him what the final report said. The management did nothing until they suddenly gave him a suspension letter in September 2018. Musa Batchilly ran things as CEO then. Sowe believes they suspended him without talking to him properly about what the audit found.
Sowe plans to come back and testify more to clear his name. He wants to prove these money problems happened because auditors didn't finish their job right. The case keeps going, and Sowe still says he's innocent. Whatever happens next should show if there were big problems with how they conducted audits, if Sowe really was treated unfairly, or if someone actually stole money from the department.
