By Fatou Krubally
A parliamentary committee Tuesday took Medicines Control Agency (MCA) to task over missing police report and acting leadership at the agency.
Members of the National Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) expressed concern over MCA’s failure to obtain a police report on stolen laptops and the prolonged acting appointment of the agency’s Executive Director.
The concerns were raised during FPAC’s examination of the MCA’s activity reports, financial statements and management letters covering the period from 2021 to 2024.
Lawmakers questioned MCA officials about audit findings relating to the theft of four laptop computers during a break-in at the agency’s offices along Kairaba Avenue in 2023.
MCA officials told the committee that the incident was reported immediately to Kairaba Police Station after staff discovered the break-in.
According to the agency, police officers visited the scene, collected fingerprints, conducted preliminary investigations and opened a case file.
However, officials said that despite repeated follow-ups over the past two years, the agency has not received an official police report on the incident.
They explained that the stolen items comprised two new laptops that had not yet been assigned to staff and two old, non-functional laptops.
FPAC members expressed dissatisfaction over the delay, arguing that public institutions should be able to obtain official reports from other state institutions through formal channels.
The committee directed the MCA to intensify its engagement with the Gambia Police Force, including writing formally to the Inspector General of Police, and to report back within three weeks.
The committee also questioned the continued acting appointment of the agency’s Executive Director, who officials said has served in that capacity for nearly three years.
MCA representatives informed lawmakers that the board had repeatedly discussed the matter and made several submissions to the relevant authorities but had yet to receive a final decision.
FPAC members described the prolonged acting appointment as a governance concern, noting that extended interim leadership could create uncertainty within public institutions.
They urged the MCA board to pursue the matter more vigorously and ensure that the appropriate authorities are informed of Parliament’s concerns.
The committee said both the outstanding police report and the unresolved leadership appointment raise governance issues requiring urgent attention.
FPAC’s review of the MCA forms part of its ongoing scrutiny of audited accounts and management reports of public institutions aimed at strengthening accountability and improving public financial management.