Africa-Press – Gambia. Auditors from the National Audit Office (NAO) have discovered duplicate payments amounting to D669,879 in per diem and transportation allowances made to Banjul City Council staff during a retreat at Foni in 2022.
The finding is detailed in the audited management letter of the Banjul City Council EU-Ostend project, covering the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 April 2024, presented to the National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee.
“This is an indication of potential financial mismanagement and lack of accountability and transparency in the handling of financial transactions,” the auditors stated.
They recommended that the duplicated amount be recovered from the beneficiaries and refunded to the project finalization and the council’s account.
Management explained that the retreat was jointly organized and funded by the EU/Ostende Project and the Banjul City Council to build the capacity of Council staff, Councilors, and the project team.
“In the project framework agreement, the EU/Oostende partner has a financial obligation for the project implementation and likewise the Council (15% counterpart contribution). According to the arrangements, the project paid for the participants’ per diem and the Council paid for their accommodation,” management explained.
The Council assured that reports would be provided for review, adding that the officer responsible would face the consequences.
However, the auditors noted, “No reports were provided to the audit team, and the CEO should be held accountable for the recovery of these funds.”
The auditors further queried potential fraudulent payments of honorarium totaling D748,800. “These payments were not adequately supported by appropriate documentation, and there were significant discrepancies in the approval and disbursement processes,” they stated.
Auditors emphasized that this indicated a total misappropriation of project funds and could erode trust and credibility in the project.
They recommended that the project manager and CEO conduct a thorough investigation, recover the funds, and implement stricter internal controls to prevent further payments of honorarium.
Management explained that the honorarium payment was part of the indirect cost budgeted at 5.728% of the total direct cost to cover expenses not related to any specific project component, such as honorarium and allowances for the steering committee and town hall meetings.
Auditors rejected this justification, stating, “There is no section of the Framework Partnership Agreement that allows honorarium payments as indirect costs from the project. This response is baseless, misleading and therefore inadequate.”
They urged the CEO to recover the funds immediately and provide evidence of this to the audit team for confirmation.
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