Africa-Press – Gambia. The National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) has raised serious concerns over Kanifing General Hospital’s (KGH) financial management, revealing unaccounted funds, missing assets and the alarming distribution of expired drugs to patients.
In its latest report, FPAC flagged that the hospital failed to present key payment vouchers dating back as far as 2010, including cash disbursements for patient services, impress and supplier payments amounting to over D44,000. The committee has given management 30 days to produce these vouchers for review.
Equally worrying, payments worth D141,230 were made without supporting documents, covering items such as plumbing, printing, fuel, allowances and air tickets. FPAC has called for all missing evidence to be submitted and warned that future payments must strictly follow proper procedures.
The report also found that KGH did not deduct the required 10% withholding tax from suppliers, failed to secure three quotations for procurements totalling D230,672.50, and did not record or disclose critical assets such as motor vehicles, land, buildings, medical equipment and generators in its books for nearly a decade.
According to the Committee, the hospital’s general store is in poor condition, with items scattered and unverified due to lack of shelving and proper organisation. Pharmacy stock balances at the end of each financial year were not valued, while expired drugs remained on shelves and were issued to patients an issue FPAC described as a major health risk.
The audit also uncovered discrepancies between the hospital’s asset register and its financial statements, unexplained differences in asset costs, and improper classification of revenue and capital items. Furthermore, no evidence was provided to verify the disposal of scrapped assets from 2010 to 2014.
FPAC further observed that the hospital did not maintain its own accounting or financial manual, relying instead on generic government regulations. It equally lacks an internal Service Rule tailored to its specific operations and staffing.
The Committee has urged hospital management to address these lapses urgently, liaise with relevant authorities to determine the value of its properties, and ensure expired drugs are disposed of properly.
As part of its recommendations, FPAC stressed that all outstanding documents must be furnished within 30 days and called for tighter oversight to prevent future financial and operational risks.
The revelations add to growing concerns about accountability and safety in public health facilities, with lawmakers pushing for reforms to protect scarce resources and the wellbeing of patients.
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