Africa-Press – Gambia. State auditors have urged the Banjul City Council (BCC) to provide a distribution list of 2000 waste bins, as, according to them, there is an increased risk of misallocation or misuse of the waste bins and a lack of accountability and transparency in the distribution process.
The National Audit Office (NAO) last week presented to the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Public Accounts (FPAC) the audit findings of an audit exercise on the EU-Banjul Ostend Project, covering 2020 and 2024.
“The Project Manager and CEO, in consultation with the steering committee, should conduct an immediate investigation to determine the whereabouts of the missing distribution list and ensure it is provided to the audit team for verification,” auditors demanded.
The council’s management gave the assurance that it will launch investigation into the distribution strategy and also present documents for review.
The auditors said their exercise led to the discovery of unauthorized payment of one-sixth loans to the project coordinator.
“We noted that four members of the project team requested a loan of one-by-six in December 2021 for the Christmas festivities. Three of the total number of loan requests were cancelled after the payment vouchers and cheques were prepared for the loan to be paid out to these individuals. The one-by-six loan amounts to D53,756.94,” auditors disclosed. “There is potential misuse of project funds for unauthorized purposes, and this can lead to erosion of trust and accountability within the project team. The CEO and Steering Committee must immediately put in place measures to recover the unauthorized amount from the project coordinator.”
The management, however, responded that the loans or one-by-six for the project team were fully recovered, adding that the loans or one-by-six for the council staff have also been recovered.
“While we acknowledge the recovery of these funds, it is noteworthy that this expenditure should not have been incurred in the first instance as it was unbudgeted for and not justifiable and does not fall under any category of the five (5) components of the project,” auditors from NAO argued.
The State auditors told FPAC that there was an unretired imprest of D328,394.00.
“A review of documents revealed that there is no proper filing of imprest retirement. This shows an inability to verify the legitimacy and proper use of imprest funds issued and an increased risk of financial mismanagement and potential misuse of funds,” NAO pointed out. It is recommended that the project manager and CEO, in consultation with the finance manager, must immediately conduct a reconciliation to identify all missing retirement documents and ensure that they are properly filed and accounted for, and presented to the audit team for verification.
The BBC management agreed to investigate and make available all imprest payment vouchers for verification.
“There is no evidence of retirements of these imprests, and the CEO should immediately look into this matter and hold responsible individuals accountable for the recovery of these funds,” auditors demanded.
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