Clarke Bajo Contradicts Other Testimonies



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Folks, the thieves cannot get their story straight and now are ratting
against each other.  The millions of Dalasis that Clarke listed in land and
vehicles, where the hell did he get it from?  He has never patented anything
in his natural life and his salary sure did not yield him that?  What were
the collaterals for the millions of Dalasis in loans?  Now they are going
after each other's blood.  Please read on.



The Independent (Banjul)

October 15, 2004
Posted to the web October 15, 2004

Karamo Bojang
Banjul

"My Wife Not Involved in Forex Business"

A former Central Bank Governor Momodou Clark Bajo has told the Presidential
Commission that his wife, Wula Cham, is not a shareholder and has no shares
in Wechet Falling Forex bureau whose shareholders were named as siblings and
spouse of some senior officials of the bank.


Clarke Bajo's statement contradicts assertions by some senior officials of
the bank who during their testimonies before the Commission, alleged that
Wula Cham is a shareholder in the foreign exchange outfit.

Testifying before the Paul Commission on October 5, Mr. Bajo said her wife
was never involved in forex business activities and had no shares or
whatsoever in her name in any foreign exchange bureau including Wechet
Falling.

He dismissed claims made by Begai Ceesay Internal Audit Manager of the bank
and the bank's former Foreign Currency Manager Lang Conteh that his wife is
a shareholder and holds 26 percent of shares in the business outfit. He
dismissed such claims as utterly false allegations, which he had read in
local newspapers. The former Central Governor maintained that his wife does
not hold any shares in Wechet Falling.

When put to him that his former colleagues who testified earlier before the
commission had named Wula Cham as a shareholder with 26 percent, Mr.

Bajo retorted; "my wife is not a party to the bureau, the documents filed at
the licensing department of the Central Bank did not contain a single
signature of my wife".

When further put to him that a document exists at the Attorney General's
Chambers containing names and shares of all shareholders to Wechet Falling
including his wife, the former Governor said at the time Wechet Falling was
registered he was the licensing authority and that the names on the
documents forwarded to him did not include his wife's name. He also provided
a document containing names of what he said are the original shareholders
and the percentage each of them holding. Wula Cham's name was not among the
list he produced. When put to him that this could have been an arrangement
between his wife and Betty Saine, one of the shareholders, Mr. Bajo
dismissed this theory as untenable because he knows all about his wife's
sources of income.

When names of Wechet Falling's supposed shareholders including Wula Cham and
their holdings were read to the former Central Bank boss, he obdurately
stuck to his denial by providing another Central Bank document stating the
shareholders of the forex outfit. Mrs. Bajo's name was conspicuously absent
from the list. Its list of shares was at variance with what is contained in
the document shown to him by the commission and also information given by
other Central Bank officials who testified before him.

Asked what was Wechet Falling's credit rating with the Central Bank as at
the time he was leaving Clarke Bajo said the forex exchange outfit had owed
the bank D1.3 million. Further quizzed whether he or his wife was asked to
pay part of this debt after the matter was investigated, Mr. Bajo replied in
the negative, saying he had not received any queries in relation to this.

Asked whether he was, within the relevant period, responsible for the
education or maintenance of anybody outside The Gambia, he responded in the
affirmative stating that he was paying basic fees of one thousand pounds
(£1000) for his daughter who was studying in the United Kingdom.

On whether he made savings from his per diems during official travels, Mr.
Bajo said he saved about 80 percent of his per diems from West African sub
regional meetings and about 60 percent when he attended meetings in Europe
most of which, he said, went into his building and agricultural projects.
Apart from his official emoluments, Mr. Bajo said he has two tipper trucks,
which earn him an extra income. He said he purchased them in January 2001
through a mortgaged loan facility of D600, 000 from the Trust Bank.
According to him the trucks were bringing in D60, 000 and D40, 000 as the
highest and lowest incomes respectively per month. He said he has a property
in Kotu that he rented out for D90, 000 per annum.

Still on his sources of income, Clarke Bajo said he has an orchard in Sukuta
with about 700 to 800 mango trees, from which he earns D40, 000 although he
sometimes earned D20, 000. He also said he has a farm in Tanji where he
plants cassava which fetches close to D12, 000 after harvest. Mr. Bajo said
he owns cattle he inherited from his father but stated that they were not
for commercial purposes. On whether he has any shares in any company, Mr.
Bajo replied in the negative but volunteered that he had registered a
company called the Kombo Agricultural Enterprises but that the company was
yet to begin business. He said he took a car loan of D350, 000 in 2003 but
that the bank pays half of the amount. On landed properties, Mr. Bajo said
he built two houses in his Sukuta compound both of which cost him about D1.2
million. He said in 1999 he purchased a plot of land in Serrekunda for D80,
000. He said he also has a family property in Gunjur and a farmland in
Tujereng, which he purchased in 1992 for D40, 000. In Jamisa, he said, he
has a fenced plot purchased in 1994 for D30, 000. Bajo claimed that he has
another property in Tanji bought for D24, 000 aside from the farmland but
denied having any properties in Banjulinding and Manjai Kunda. His wife, he
said, has a plot of land in Sanchaba and another in Sukuta while his
daughter has a property in Kotu given to her as a gift by her uncle.

On his private vehicles, Clarke said in 1996 he purchased a second-hand BMW
car for D80, 000 after which he bought a VW Passat for D375, 000.

According to the ex Central Bank Governor he had also bought a Mitsubishi
Pajero in 2001 for about D476, 000 and a smaller one for D350, 000. Trust
Bank and IBC are his bankers, he said.

Relevant Links

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Gambia



Clarke Bajo meanwhile denied operating an offshore account or credit card.
Asked about his wife's income from her business (basic commodities), Clarke
revealed that she receives between D400, 000 and D500, 000 depending on the
level of stock in her shop.

Momodou Clark Bajo, former Governor of Central Bank, has been working at
Central Bank since 1975 and by July 1994 was General Manager of the bank. In
October 1994 he became Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, a
position he held until his retirement in 2003.

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