The Banjul City Council appeared before the Finance and Public Affairs Committee of the National Assembly yesterday where the director of audit for local councils presented the executive summary on the management letter of the BCC’s financial report of 2019-2020.
In their presentation, the auditors said they noted a suspected fraud with unconfirmed GTR numbers recorded in the market’s CRBR which are not part of the books supplied by the Gambia Printing and Publishing Corporation and they cannot verify the source and quantity of the books received.
The auditors also said they evaluated the financial reporting framework of the council and found out that the BCC did not have accounting policy in respect of revenue and expenditure.
“The 2019 comparative figures were not confirmed due to absence of evidence and the council’s cash books were not properly maintained for the year 2019-2020 while no bank reconciliation statement was performed for 2019 and 2022,” the auditor told the committee in front of BCC mayor and officials.
The auditors further said there was no monthly cash book and general ledger. According to the auditors, they noted weaknesses with regard to revenue such as the unavailability for audit of some GDR issued to the main cashier as well as individual cash books for collectors at Albert Market.
Procurement
The auditors reported that they reviewed the procurement of the council for 2019-2020 and noted weaknesses such as over payment of D675,000 to UXL (difference between contract sum and actual payment).
The auditors said the council also paid nearly D2million for the construction of an abattoir and stores which they found not to be properly constructed. They said the council also purchased trash bins at D13,039,850 without tender procedure.
