“This means taxpayers’ money was spent on increments that cannot be justified by law,” the report bluntly notes, pointing to a practice that not only undermines accountability but fuels suspicion of ghost promotions.
The scandal deepened with the discovery that some government staff was receiving both basic car allowance and transport allowance simultaneously, a direct violation of the General Orders. By law, an officer entitled to a car allowance cannot also be paid for government transport. Yet, the audit revealed that in 2023 alone, allowances totaling D2.06 million was disbursed in five ministries under this irregular scheme.
“It is clearly stated that no one person can receive both allowances at the same time,” the auditors stressed, warning that such practices amount to abuse of the system.
The audit slammed the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) for stonewalling auditors’ attempts to access critical revenue management systems—including ASYCUDA World, GAMTAXNET, and NICK TC-Scan. Despite multiple written requests, official meetings and follow-ups, the National Audit Office was denied access to databases essential for verifying government revenue collection.
This refusal, the auditors said, is in direct violation of both the 1997 Constitution and the Financial Regulations of 2016, which require all public officers to provide records when called upon.
“The denial of access severely undermines our ability to independently verify the integrity and accuracy of the country’s revenue systems,” the Auditor General warned, calling the obstruction a breach of financial discipline.
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