By: Binta Jaiteh
The National Audit Office (NAO) has demanded that the Office of the President and the Sheriff Division provide information on the sales of former President Yahya Jammeh’s assets.
The Auditor General’s 2021 Management Letter of the Government revealed possible revenue leakages, indicating that auditors discovered a disclosure of D277,966,000 from the sale of Jammeh’s assets.
“From our inquiries and discussions, we noted that Alpha Capital sold part of the properties and lands as the receiver, the Office of the President sold the vehicles, the Janneh Commission also sold part of the properties and lands, and the Sheriff Division at the Judiciary sold cattle,” the report indicated.
The NAO noted that despite engaging the Accountant General’s Department, the Office of the President, the Attorney General Chambers, and the Sheriff Division, “all efforts remain futile” in obtaining information on the transactions.
According to the auditors, they could not verify the completeness and accuracy of the disclosures made in the government’s financial statements due to the absence of records, warning that “there is a risk that collections were misappropriated, leading to misstatement in the financial statements.”
The audit further highlighted a difference of D544,050 between the General Treasury Receipts (GTR) and the amount deposited at the Central Bank of The Gambia, as well as an overstatement of revenue by D55,000 recorded in 2021 instead of 2022.
It also revealed that assets valued at D440,000 in the valuer’s report were not reflected in the auctioneer’s report, raising suspicion that the items may have been sold or withdrawn without proper documentation.
“The absence of contracts for the valuer and auctioneer, and missing auction receipts amounting to D311,000, pose a risk of improper accounting of proceeds from government asset sales, resulting in possible loss of public funds,” the NAO pointed out.
