Africa-Press – Gambia. Under Articles 159-160 of The Gambia’s 1997 Constitution and the National Audit Office Act 2015, the auditor general examines whether public funds have been managed lawfully, prudently, and effectively.
An audit report presents the auditor general’s independent findings on government financial stewardship, comprising audit opinions on financial statements (section 20, NAO Act), detailed audit paragraphs highlighting irregularities, specific recommendations for remedial action, and follow-up assessments on prior recommendations.
The 2021-2023 National Audit Office reports indicating some gabs in public finance management have occasioned something unprecedented in Gambian history, and that is unfettered public discourse on government accountability. That these reports are openly shared with media, civil society, and the National Assembly, provoking widespread national conversation, critical analysis, and scrutiny by all sectors, marks a revolutionary departure from past practice.
Previous administrations treated audit reports as classified documents. The pre-2017 era was characterized by deliberate opacity where citizens remained largely uninformed about how their resources were managed, and where questioning fiscal propriety invited grave reprisal. Audit findings, when produced at all, were not freely shared and debated openly and publicly in the media or by civil society.
The Barrow Government’s commitment to transparency represents a cardinal demonstration of good leadership. By deliberately making audit reports publicly accessible, the administration has embraced a governance philosophy rooted in the people’s right to know. This is not administrative routine. It is conscious political will to subject executive performance to democratic scrutiny, acknowledging that sovereignty resides with citizens who deserve unvarnished information about public finance management.
This openness reflects profound democratic imperative of tolerance for criticism, commitment to good governance principles, respect for institutional integrity, and civic empowerment.
The government accepts that transparency invites robust, sometimes harsh examination. Rather than shielding itself from scrutiny, it permits hyper-criticism and adverse analysis as necessary features of democratic accountability, distinguishing mature democracy from authoritarian reflex.
For the first time under President Barrow, Gambians can trace how appropriations were spent and demand answers from officials. Media houses produce investigative reports based on audit findings. Civil society organisations issue scorecards on public finance management. Citizens discuss government financial performance with factual grounding rather than rumour.
The revolutionary nature of this transparency cannot be overstated. It represents a historic break with authoritarian traditions where power shrouded itself in secrecy and accountability existed only within closed government circles, if at all.
The Barrow administration’s willingness to endure public criticism that audit disclosures inevitably generate, demonstrates confidence that transparency ultimately strengthens rather than weakens legitimacy.
The government’s facilitation of the Barrow government’s decision to embrace transparency tolerating criticism, inviting scrutiny, and empowering citizens with information, transforms audit reports from bureaucratic rituals into engines of democratic accountability.
The government’s transparency in releasing these unflattering findings demonstrates confidence in democratic processes. Rather than suppressing evidence of deficiencies, it acknowledges them publicly, creating space for corrective action. This courage distinguishes leadership committed to institutional improvement from regimes protecting impunity.
For me, this represents leadership’s highest calling – the willingness to be judged by the people it serves.
As The Gambia consolidates its democratic transition, the public disclosure of audit reports stands as a defining feature of the new constitutional order, proof that “Never Again” means not just political repression but also fiscal opacity.
Section 20 of the NAO Act mandates the Auditor General to submit reports to the National Assembly within six months of year-end and follow up on implementation of recommendations. The Barrow Government’s decision to ensure these reports reach beyond the N.A to the general public amplifies their impact exponentially, creating accountability loops that engage the entire society rather than just government institutions.
The gravitas of serious gabs in the 2021-2023 reports require corrective action, recovery of funds, and sanctions against responsible officers. That Gambians can now debate these issues openly, armed with facts rather than speculation is a testament to transparent governance.
The revolution is not that irregularities exist for they do exist in every system, but that citizens now know about them and can demand accountability. This knowledge is power, and its deliberate transfer from state to society marks the Barrow administration’s most enduring democratic contribution.
Having opened the door to public scrutiny, the government will now walk through it toward justice and institutional strengthening, ensuring that historic transparency yields tangible accountability and progressive improvement in public finance management.
Mai Ahmad Fatty
GMC leader
Source: The Standard Newspaper | Gambia
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