The government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) allocated 29.1 million dalasis as a relief package to Gambian students studying overseas who were not under The Gambia government scholarship.
As at the end of September 2020, the audit report noted that D18,997,480.00 was disbursed to The Gambia embassies in respect of the overseas student relief package, adding that the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Technology (MoHERST) is responsible for the administration of the payment to The Gambia embassies, who then disbursed the entitled amount to the beneficiary students.
“Unconfirmed Payments to Students Remittance to the tune of D1, 134,420 was received by the Gambian Embassy in Algeria in respect of the Covid-19 relief package to Gambian students in Algeria. However, there was no evidence of payment of the Covid-19 relief package to students in Algeria. Embassies should ensure that disbursement of funds received should only be used for the intended purpose,” NAO stated.
On the eligibility criteria, the report further highlighted that no documented guidelines or policies or eligibility criteria exist to guide the management of support to overseas students. In some countries, the NAO report said students on government scholarship received support allowance whilst students in other countries did not receive the allowance.
“As such, eligibility and selection criteria were not stipulated at the outset. Payment of allowances to support students during the pandemic should not be carried out without clear eligibility criteria.”
The NAO concludes that based on the documentation and information obtained during the audit, adequate and appropriate evidence was not presented by MoHESRT to substantiate the proper identification of eligible students and the subsequent payment of allowances.
