FPAC EXPLAINS RESOLUTION ON GOV’T’s D50M TRANSFER TO SENEGAL

The auditor general’s report on the government’s 2019 finances, flagged an unsupported payment of timber proceeds amounting to D50 million to the government of Senegal.
The auditors said during their examination of payment vouchers, they discovered that the accountant general had written to the Central Bank of the Gambia on December 12, 2019 requesting the transfer of D50 million from the special deposit account to the state of Senegal.
The auditors further noted the payment of D49, 999, 000 to the Government of Senegal on December 31st 2019 in respect of timber proceeds adding that these transfers were made outside the government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and there was no evidence of agreement or MoU between the government of the Gambia and that of Senegal to support the transfers.
In light of these findings, the Finance and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly (FPAC), passed a resolution on September 2023 calling for the permanent secretary at the ministry of environment to provide to the auditor general and FPAC, all agreements they have with the Government of Senegal relating to all forfeited timber seized on Gambian soil and all payments made from the proceeds.
The resolution also resolved that the permanent secretary provide to the auditor general and FPAC evidence of who gave him the authority to spend the funds generated from the sale of confiscated timber.
However according to FPAC, police have said a thorough review of the evidence gathered during their investigation found no documentary evidence to establish the existence of a bilateral agreement or defined sharing ratio between the government of the Gambia and that of Senegal concerning proceeds from seized timber.
“However, evidence confirms that authority was granted for the transfer of D50million into the accounts of the Government of Senegal,” the police said in its report submitted to FPAC.
According to the police, the authority given for the transfer of these funds to the government of Senegal was “granted through two separate instruments; an authorisation from the Ministry of Finance and an authorisation from the Office of the President approving the use of EL funds for security-related procurement covering payments to UNOPS, Niumi supply, and China XINXING.”
The police further stated that there is “no evidence” to suggest that the permanent secretary of the ministry of environment “exercised discretion in, or bore responsibility for approving these payments, as the authorisations originated from higher authorities.
“The police has recommended that the said resolution be addressed with the availability of the two authorisations, Ministry of Finance and the Office of the President,” FPAC reported to the Assembly on Thursday.

Source: The Standard