The
National Audit Office (NAO) yesterday presented their annual report and
financial statement to the Public Accounts and Public Enterprises Committees
(PAC/PEC) of the National Assembly.
Presenting
the report before lawmakers, the Principal Auditor of NAO, Baba .S. Drammeh,
said the National Audit Office has now been granted autonomous status in line
with the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia.
He
said their stakeholders would now expect the National Audit Office, as a public
institution, to be effective in their operations.
“We
have to modernise to meet the demands and challenges in our work and we have
prepared a strategic development plan covering the period 2014-2018,” he said.
The
strategic development plan, he added, would respond to government initiatives,
legal development, needed staff development, planned staff recruitment,
technological development, logistical needs to meet planned developments, and
changes to international accounting and audit requirements.
He
added that the need for transparency and accountability in every sphere of
public life could hardly be overemphasized and, as supreme audit institution,
they believe in leading by example to that end.
In
addition, he noted, there is also the Code of Conduct of The Gambia Civil
Service issued by the Personnel Management Office and the Code of Conduct set
out in Article 221 to 225 of the constitution of The Gambia.
Mr
Drammeh further told lawmakers the constraints faced by the National Audit
Office, such as the recruitment and retention of suitable qualified staff, as
well as the unavailability of regular transport to ferry staff to their
workplaces and for treks.
Whilst
NAO were hopeful the recent enactment of the new audit law would go a long way
in addressing the recruitment and retention issues of the office, the
availability of vehicles to transport staff to their workplaces and trek could
pose the greatest threat to the effectiveness of the office, he added.
He
said the NAO would increase its staff complement in the coming years, which
would place greater demand on the available fleet of vehicles and would,
therefore, require additional vehicles to ensure smooth execution of its
operations.
Mr
Drammeh further cited what NAO does. The office is designed to facilitate by
ensuring accountability of the executive to the legislature, and the
establishment of audit is inherent in public financial administration, as
management of public funds represent a trust.
The
National Audit Office would return to the National Assembly today for
consideration of their annual activity report and financial statement.
