Auditor General Cherno Amadou Sowe has dismissed allegations that he suppressed or downplayed unfavourable findings in some audit reports produced by the National Audit Office (NAO).
“I cannot alter audit reports. I cannot change them. I cannot suppress them unless they are not supported by evidence,” Sowe said at an engagement with the media on public sector auditing and audit findings reporting at the Senegambia Hotel yesterday.
He said his responsibility as auditor general is to protect the integrity of the National Audit Office and ensure everything it publishes reflects truth and fairness
” I have a responsibility to ensure that everything we put out there is accurate and I should be able to defend it even when I don’t go to the field. So if I try to do something with the report, the system will not allow me. This office is guided by processes and procedures and nobody can flout that,” Sowe said.
The auditor general used the occasion to condemn actions of some auditors who leaked unfinished reports to the media arguing that such acts diminish the work of the NAO and do a great injustice to the citizens.
He called on the media to avoid publishing those incomplete reports because they are misleading information. “Our work is not hidden. We have nothing to hide,” Sowe said.
AG Sowe said his office attaches great importance to the interaction with the media because it recognises the fundamental role the media plays in governance system, particularly in informing citizens about matters of public interest, promoting transparency, and holding public institutions accountable. He said NAO recognises that its work can have a greater impact when the findings and recommendations arising from audits are accurately understood and effectively communicated to the public.
He urged journalists to ensure that audit findings are interpreted correctly and communicated to the public accurately, fairly, and in their proper context.”Through sustained engagement, we hope to bridge this and strengthen the quality of public discourse on audit findings,” Sowe said.
