By Binta Jaiteh
The National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed that the Ministry of Higher Education could not provide adequate evidence to show that over D1m was indeed disbursed to Gambian students in Algeria as COVID-19 relief.
The Gambia government claimed that it paid D1,134,420 to the students but NAO said: “Based on the documentation and information obtained during the audit, adequate and appropriate evidence was not presented by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Technology to substantiate the proper identification of eligible students and the subsequent payment of allowances.”
NAO said in phases one and two of its audit of COVID-19 funds that the purpose of the relief package may not be achieved in the absence of eligibility criteria.
