Eliman S. Kah, a resident of Latrikunda German and a former IT Manager of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) detailed before the commission of inquiry as to why he resigned from his position. He appeared before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Thursday, 19 September 2024.
His employment in KMC dates back to 15 April 2008 as an IT Technician, progressing to the position of IT Manager in 2010. He was the manager until he resigned on 31 July 2021. He testified that he resigned because his salary was stopped and there no explanation was provided to him. He said he tried to find out, but the CEO could not tell him the reason.
"My salary was stopped without notice and when I made inquiries through the Office of the CEO, nobody could tell me why my salary was stopped. So, I decided not to continue with the Council," the witness said.
The witness explained that he requested a 10-day leave which was granted by the then CEO Sainabou Martin Sonko to do his exams. He added that he also requested for a 15-day leave, but the director of administration tried to stop him.
"I told him to write whatever opinion he has and forward it to the CEO, who has the final say on whether I should go on leave or not," the witness said.
He said the CEO approved his leave, but when needed, he will be called back. While on leave, he said he got information that his salary was stopped but the CEO informed him that she did not give that instruction for his salary to be stopped.
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"From there, I decided to write my resignation letter," he said.
He testified that the Council did not respond to his letter and after 3 weeks he was asked to do a handing over. He said he already handed them a handing over note. He added that until today, the Council did not reply to him.
The Commission noted that in his written statement he indicated that his resignation was triggered by "unethical, unprofessional and very disrespectful administrative lapses." The witness said those were his exact words, adding that he was a senior staff of the Council and they could have accorded him some respect even if they were going to stop his salary.
The written statement of the witness dated 13 July 2023 was tendered and admitted in evidence.
During his time, he said he was the head of the IT Unit and was answerable to the Director of Finance. He added that he had one (1) technician.
"We used to provide support to council staff to get them connected to the network and also to help in repairing and maintaining the IT infrastructure," he said.
He stated that his office used to do backups for resources in the server of the Council in case of disaster. He added that they had an IT policy and he was requested to bring it to the Commission.
The witness said the system KMC is using was procured during his time, but he was not involved as he was not consulted.
"I was not involved or consulted," he said.
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