{"id":87138,"date":"2025-10-02T17:21:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments"},"modified":"2025-10-02T18:26:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T18:26:20","slug":"first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","title":{"rendered":"First Lady’S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the President (OP) disbursed over D32.5 million to suppliers without the required procurement documentation, including a D926,292 business-class round-trip ticket for First Lady Fatoumatta Bah Barrow\u2019s travel to New York.<\/b><\/p>\n

The report states that in November 2023, the OP extended a soft loan of D32.5 million to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretariat to cover staff salaries. While the OIC sought to repay the amount into the consolidated revenue fund, the OP issued a directive for the repayment to be redirected to its suppliers, including Fatima Trading, Ansu Auto Service, Cinderella Travel & Tours, Malick Mendy Tailoring Ltd., and the National Security Adviser\u2019s Account.<\/p>\n

Auditors reported they requested procurement and supporting documentation for the services rendered, but the OP did not furnish such records.<\/p>\n

The report further notes that Cinderella Travel & Tours was paid D926,292 ($15,212.55) for a round-trip business-class ticket for the First Lady. A benchmark analysis conducted by auditors found that the standard market rate for similar routes and travel conditions ranged between GMD 487,120 and GMD 548,010 ($8,000\u2013$9,000), raising concerns of overpayment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe concluded a benchmark analysis from airline agents for the same route, travel class, and similar travel dates. The standard market rate for such a ticket ranged from GMD 487,120.00 to GMD 548,010.00 (8000 to 9000 USD) as of the date of the invoice,\u201d the audit report said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Ansu Auto Service received D2,575,000 for a used vehicle despite not being a registered vendor for high-value government purchases. The payment was made without the mandatory deduction of 10% withholding tax, in violation of the Income and Value Added Tax Act. Auditors noted that the amount paid was comparable to the market price of a brand-new double-cabin 4\u00d74 pickup from an authorized dealer, which would typically include a manufacturer\u2019s warranty and after-sales service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price of GMD2,575,000.00 was paid for a used vehicle to Ansu Auto Service without the mandatory deduction of 10% withholding tax. This constitutes a breach of the Income and Value Added Tax Act. A market survey conducted by the audit team indicates that, as of 2023, this amount falls approximately within the market price range for a brand-new double-cabin 4\u00d74 pickup vehicle from an authorized dealer, which would typically include a manufacturer\u2019s warranty, after-sales service, and assured quality if OP had utilized it,\u201d the audit said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the President (OP) disbursed over D32.5 million to suppliers without the required procurement documentation, including a D926,292 business-class round-trip ticket for First Lady Fatoumatta Bah Barrow\u2019s travel to New York. The report states that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":87136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-87138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"First Lady’S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\"},\"wordCount\":415,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\",\"name\":\"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First Lady’S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments - Gambia","description":"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments","og_description":"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"First Lady’S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments","datePublished":"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments"},"wordCount":415,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments","name":"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-02T17:21:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-02T18:26:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The 2023 Audit Report on the Government of The Gambia\u2019s financial statements has revealed that the Office of the Pres ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1759416956.946188.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"First Lady'S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/first-ladys-d926000-flight-among-d32m-payments#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Lady’S D926,000 Flight Among D32M Payments"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}