The annual activity reports and audited financial statements for the years ended 2010 and 2011 by the National Youth Council (NYC) was Wednesday, for the third time, turned down by the Joint Session of the Public Accounts and Public Enterprises (PAC/PEC) Committee of the National Assembly at the National Assembly Chambers in Banjul.
The NYC officials’ reappearance before the committee was triggered, as Marcel Mendy, executive secretary was reported be out of town and was represented by the programme manager who the committee members thought was not in better position to provide the needed answers to some of the questions.
Speaking shortly after turning down the reports, to the surprise of the NYC officials led by Fabakary Kalleh, chairperson of NYC, Honourable Abdoulie Bojang, speaker of the National Assembly and chairman of the committee, recalled that the NYC were asked to go back and clarify some doubts by the committee regarding some missing vouchers for submission to the auditors, and some liabilities in order to recover all the NYC debts.
He explained that the National Youth Council needed to clarify some issues. Among them, the payment to UNICEF regarding the loans from NEDI, noting that they also asked the NYC to document the challenges that the NYC is facing, because it is a very important institution and it is very close to the National Assembly to promote the issue regarding the welfare of the youths of this country.
Speaker Bojang informed the NYC officials that the highlighted issues and others make it difficult for the representative of the executive secretary, noting that he does not think the programme manager can be responsible for giving answers to some of the questions.
“It is the responsibility of the executive secretary to give answers to these questions. So, his absence makes the work for NYC representatives here gradually impossible”.
He reminded them that the executive secretary should have informed the office of Clerk of his emergent travel, as he knew that he was to reappear before the Assembly.
He concluded that for those reasons, the committee could not listen to the NYC, but will be communicate to after the return of the executive secretary, while stressing that the executive secretary must write an apology letter.
