Madi Jobarteh
As the Gambia gears up for a massive Independence celebration that will cost millions, EFSCRJ hereby raises deep concerns about widespread mismanagement of public funds, corruption, and abuse of office by public institutions and officials. These concerns are informed by the Government of the Gambia 2020 Audit Report produced by the National Audit Office (NAO).
According to Section 160 of the Constitution, the Auditor General should audit the accounts of all public offices to determine that the use of funds complied with the budget approved by the National Assembly and that the management of the funds was done in line with relevant laws and standards. We are concerned that the NAO has concluded that there is a high risk of mismanagement of public accounts and funds in 2020. We also worry that Government accounts from 2021 to 2024 have not been audited in total violation of the Constitution. The NAO, the National Assembly, and the President bear primary responsibility for this constitutional violation.
In the 2020 Audit Report, we are dismayed at the extent of inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption. We have noted the following:
- There is a lack of transparency, with financial statements being misstated, leading to the understatement of millions of dalasi in various accounts. For example, an unidentified amount of over D131 million dalasi could not be linked to the Government’s financial statements. Similarly, several violations of the Financial Regulations regarding virements to create new positions amount to over D79 million.
- Many transactions of tens of millions of dalasi were also conducted without the Finance minister’s approval. Instances where books do not tally, showing millions of differences between accounts, occurred. Bank withdrawals of over D1.9 million were also incurred through cheques that were declared canceled by IFMIS.
- Auditors could not confirm the details of the compensation paid to the 2018 Faraba Bantang victims, amounting to over D18 million. The necessary information was absent to verify recipients. There was no information system to monitor and notify the Accountant General of civil servants’ retirement dates. At the same time, the report indicates the failure of the Government to pay SSHFC in full for injury compensation for civil servants.
- There were instances of single sourcing amounting to over half a million dalasi, and invoices were received even before requests for quotations were made. Meanwhile, supporting documents were not presented for capital expenditures amounting to over D1.5 billion.
- Discrepancies between money collected and bank statements totaling tens of thousands of dalasi. There is a lack of supporting documentation from the Geology Department and Fisheries Department about the revenue they collected, running into over D5 million. Failure to present the complete documentation on the sale of assets by the Janneh Commission totaling over D706 million. Documents presented only show D40 million in sales. Meanwhile, Gamtel owes over D11 million arrears to Gateway funds in 2020, indicating the risk of the outstanding balance not being recovered.
- Imprest amounting to over D2 million dalasi were disbursed to various ministries and departments without the approval of the Permanent Secretary, MoFEA. This raises questions about the legitimacy and legality of these payments.
- There have been several instances of mismanagement, inefficiency, and fraud recorded. These include the poor monitoring of budget execution, in which over D46 million could be lost, which should be spent on delivering social services for our people. The misclassification of loan repayments totaling over D108 million. The foreign debt service is overstated, leading to high budget costs. The misuse of contingency funds amounting to over D474 million when there was no unforeseen or urgent emergency to justify using these funds. Provision of wrong or missing information regarding loans and public debt. This shows weak internal controls and a lack of consultation and transparency. Instances of non-payment of loans that the Government gave to SOEs. During the period under review, both GCAA and Gamtel were given loans of over D1.7 billion that they failed to pay.
- The Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs have both failed to provide information on the grants they received. NAO wrote to them, but both ministries refused to respond. Similarly, the Ministry of Fisheries failed to fully quantify and disclose losses of public money in the fire incident at their office in 2019. Also, MoFEA has been unable to create a Borrowing Plan as required by the Public Finance Act. This is necessary to guide and manage effectively with transparency the situation of domestic and external borrowing, ensuring effective forecasting of cash inflows and outflows.
These cases highlight poor management, inefficiency, and corruption for which the Auditor General said public accounts face ‘High Risk.’
We call on the National Assembly and the President, as the primary responsible parties, to ensure full transparency and accountability for these serious anomalies.
