EFSCRJ Welcomes the Police Investigation of the IEC with Concern – LamToro Information

Press Statement

We have famous the general public assertion by the Gambia Police Force issued on 15 October 2024 that they’re investigating the Independent Electoral Commission following queries raised in a particular audit by the National Audit Office. While we’re but to entry a replica of this particular audit report from both the Auditor General or the IGP, we welcome this investigation. We will proceed to observe the method to its logical conclusion. In this regard we request that each the Auditor General and the Inspector General make accessible the report back to the general public as residents have a proper to know what’s within the report.

Having welcomed this investigation, we’re nonetheless involved that there are lots of different audit studies by the Auditor General which haven’t grow to be the topic of police investigation. These audit studies concern a variety of establishments and points that spotlight blatant disregard legal guidelines, laws and authorized recommendation by public establishments and officers thereby inflicting large monetary losses to the nation.

For instance, the Auditor General had audited the Governments accounts in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and located severe instances of irregular procurement, improper checking account administration, unpresented supporting documentation, unaccounted income, noncompliance with laws, weak inner controls, and lack of public monies amongst a number of different anomalies. These are clear authorized, administration and accounting malpractices. Yet now we have not seen the IGP announce investigations after every annual audit of Government accounts.

Similarly, the NAO had carried out an audit into the diplomatic and repair passports scandal by way of the procedures throughout utility, approval, and issuance between 2017 and 2019. Their conclusion was that there have been extreme deficiencies within the procedures. Despite the intense findings within the matter, the IGP couldn’t efficiently prosecute and maintain anybody accountable for wrongfully giving nationwide diplomatic passports to unauthorized and ineligible individuals.

The NAO additionally audited the multimillion-dalasi building of eco-lodges below the administration of the GTBoard between 2018 and 2021. They discovered immense lapses within the procurement course of and famous that resulting from these deviations from laws the aims of the camps is not going to be achieved. As predicted, it’s evident that the eco-lodge challenge was an enormous cesspool of failure and corruption to the purpose that it even turned a topic of investigation by the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly. Yet the IGP has by no means introduced or opened investigations into GTBoard and the Ministry of Tourism.

Then got here the problem of the obnoxious Securiport which was additionally audited between 2019 and 2021. Again, the Auditor General discovered that the Office of the President, Ministry of Interior and Immigration Department failed to stick to the authorized recommendation offered by the Ministry of Justice that the contract was dangerous for the nation. Rather, they went forward to signal the Securiport contract, which is nothing, however a rip-off as revealed additional in a Malagen report in 2023. It is now apparent that Securiport is a extreme injury to tourism and the financial system as an entire. But the IGP by no means opened investigations into Securiport.

The Auditor General additionally audited the COVID funds in 2022 about how the procurement and distribution of medical and meals gadgets have been carried out throughout the nation through the pandemic. Their findings confirmed manifestly the disregard of legal guidelines and laws, lacking paperwork, inappropriate procurement, and inappropriate contracting processes amongst a number of different anomalies inflicting large lack of hundreds of thousands of dalasi. Yet the IGP has but to announce investigations into the COVID funds.

In the audit of the greater than two-billion-dalasi Banjul highway rehabilitation challenge between 2019 and 2021, the Auditor General as soon as once more discovered whole disregard of legal guidelines and laws within the tendering course of. Rather, the whole contract was single sourced thereby inflicting the nation to lose. In this matter additionally, the IGP by no means introduced an investigation.

Considering the foregoing, the announcement by the IGP to research the IEC due to an audit due to this fact raises severe questions as to the impartiality, professionalism, and effectivity of the Gambia Police. As an establishment arrange to make sure transparency and accountability inside the Government, we urge the IGP to evaluation his place concerning audit studies from the National Audit Office. We are conscious with deep concern that a number of audit queries from the Auditor General have been despatched to the Police to research with none progress. The National Assembly additionally does submit resolutions that require investigations to the IGP, but the general public isn’t knowledgeable of their progress.

The Constitution has imposed clear obligations with powers on the Auditor General, the Inspector General of Police and the National Assembly to make sure that there may be transparency and accountability inside the public sector. There are clear lower laid down guidelines within the Constitution and different legal guidelines of the Gambia that decide how public establishments and officers should abide by the regulation of their administration of public assets and supply of public companies. Hence there isn’t a gray space for mismanagement, corruption, or underperformance.

One of the important thing capabilities and functions of the IGP is due to this fact to make sure that public property is used and managed in accordance with regulation. This operate have to be executed in an neutral, skilled and constant method with out ill-will or favour. The EF Small Centre due to this fact calls on the IGP to open investigations into all different audit studies wherein anomalies have been recognized.

In the Spirit of Edward Francis Small, For The Gambia Our Homeland

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Madi Jobarteh