The chairman of the National Assembly Select Committees on Public Accounts and Public Enterprises on Wednesday presented before the members of the National Assembly, the outcome of the 2011 Joint Session of the PAC/PEC committees during the period 3rd October, 2011 to 31st January 2012.

The report, among other things, revealed that out of the 50 public enterprises/agencies that appeared before the Joint Session, only 37 were treated and adopted, four deferred, seven failed to comply while two others were exempted. The Majority leader and NAM for Serekunda East who tabled the report before members on behalf of the speaker who is the chairman of the committees said the report is the committee’s own findings, opinion, conclusions and recommendations on the state of the affairs of the government of The Gambia and the public enterprises and agencies to the president, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Dr. Alhaji Yahya Jammeh and the government of The Gambia.

According to him, appearance before the Joint Session must be seen as a process by which the “highest oversight authority of the Republic” will hold the managements of public enterprises/agencies accountable for the actions and decisions they have made in the management of public resources.

“It should be seen as a forum where good management practices are recognised and rewarded, while bad management accounts for consideration,” he said, noting that the aim of the exercise was not to witch-hunt any particular individual or institution adversely, but rather meant to ensure transparency, probity and openness in all the public institutions, to hold the heads accountable for their actions and to ensure public corporations and agencies deliver the desired services to the general public in an effective and efficient manner.  

On individual institutions, the report revealed certain issues, concerns and gave recommendations.

Central Bank of The Gambia

On the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), the report stated that the Joint Committee noted with concern that the Foreign Exchange Risk Management (FERM) guidelines established by the Central Bank for its foreign exchange risk management activities were not complied with during the period under consideration for 11 out of 12 months during the year. It recommends that the bank takes all necessary steps to comply fully with these guidelines. It says any review or updates of these guidelines should respond to current realities and requirements and should be carried out only when properly authorised.

Other issues and concern that surfaced in the report include the current poor condition of the local bank notes in circulation and the insurance companies that are receiving from customers year-in-year out with little or no claim for years. It therefore, recommended for Central Bank to ensure that insurance companies fully disclose to the public all relevant articles and conditions governing each policy category prior to entry into a binding contract. Also considering the positive impact it has on the community were they exist, the Joint committee recommended that CBG through it micro-finance unit explore other sources of funding to ensure sustainability of the VISACA projects.

NARI

The Joint committee in their report observed with serious concern that the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) was operating below its mandate due to lack of skilled and qualified human resources in key areas. While noting the efforts made since then by NARI to train additional personnel, the committee strongly urged the management of the institute to ensure improvements in the capacity of the institution to retain trained personnel.

Like the CBG, some other serious issues and concerns were observed in the report, which include the unpaid tax and social security liabilities of the institute’s staff (NARI) and its low compliance on GPPA procurement regulations.

NRA

The National Roads Authority’s repeated failure to notice defects in works early until after completion among other issues and concerns was also raised in the report, which also observed with serious concern the authority’s failure to furnish the National Assembly with the list of contractors in The Gambia as was recommended in its 2010 Report.

It therefore, recommends that the authority prioritises constructing lasting roads than constructing many that would not last long. While the Authority was given a tap on their back for developing a National Transport Road Policy, it was recommended that the Authority consider charging a reasonable toll from all bridges crossing points rather than levying a 1% surcharge on fuel prices which would spiral through and directly affect the entire economy.  

GIA

The report highlighted PAC/PEC’s dissatisfaction with the justification and explanation given by the GIA management and board and for their inability to produce the contract document between GS aviation and GIA. It therefore, recommended that GIA work with its line ministry and other relevant authorities to pursue the matter with a view to bring Jacques Zhinou and any other culprit person (s) to book.

Loans from other institutions

The Joint Committee observed that GIA’s loans from other institutions like GPA, SSHFC have remained stagnant over the period and therefore, the committee further recommended strongly that management takes steps to enter into payment plan with these institutions in order to reduce its liabilities.

GCAA

The committee’s report on the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority noted with a serious concern and disappointment the Authority’s inability to produce the invoices/bills of the non-scheduled flights and that the auditors were not provided with such by either the finance or the commercial department. It was further revealed that the invoices in respect of passenger service charges were not signed by a senior officer, thereby flouting financial management principles.

The report further reveals an inconsistent depreciation charges with respect to furniture, fittings and equipment at GCAA. It stated further that the Authorityreported an impress and cash-in-hand of D49, 000 and D25, 000 respectively to which the financial instructions dictates that impress must be retired by the end of each financial year.

IEC

The report noted that the accounting system of IEC is not comprehensive for the scale of their operations and that it does not include a balance sheet, depreciation schedule and charges, cash flow statement and also has no comprehensive chart of account and codes. The financial position of the Commission, the report added, cannot therefore be readily ascertained from the scanty accounts produced.

On the compliance status of the commission, it noted that IEC received a low compliance rating of 16% with the Public Procurement Act. The Joint session, therefore, recommended that the commission endeavour urgently to be fully compliant with the Public Procurement Act and adhere to the GPPA rules and regulations.