Auditor General of the National Audit Office
The Auditor General of the National Audit Office (NAO) commends the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) and by extension the National Assembly (NA) for the Resolution passed during its Third Ordinary Session on pertinent audit findings from reviewed audit reports covering the periods 2016 to 2019.
We anticipate that this will contribute to greater accountability in the use and management of public resources by those entrusted with this responsibility.
For many years, stakeholders continue to ask about the relevance of the work of the NAO as there continues to be little or no action to address the audit findings especially on the misuse of public resources.
To reinforce the important role of the NAO, stakeholders are reminded that the ultimate goal in public sector auditing is to make a difference to the lives of citizens of the country. This is stipulated in one of the principles of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI- P121) ‘Value and Benefits of Supreme Audit Institutions’.
This principle underpins that the auditing of government and public sector entities by Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) has a positive impact on trust in society because it focuses the minds of the custodians of public resources on how well they use those resources.
Such awareness supports desirable values and underpins accountability mechanisms, which in turn leads to improved decisions.
Once SAIs’ audit results have been made public, citizens are able to hold the custodians of public resources accountable. In this way SAIs promote the efficiency, accountability, effectiveness and transparency of public administration.
Thus, on this recent legislative decision of the NA, I encourage all stakeholders to join the drive for greater accountability, transparency and effective use of public resources – an audit exercise is not a witch hunt nor is it meant to tarnish the image of an individual or institution; rather, it is meant to help institutions improve processes and procedures in line with laid-down laws, regulations and standards.
Finally, I and my team of dedicated staff reaffirm our commitment to our work; to conduct and produce easy-to-understand and quality audit reports for public consumption.
Source: NAO, Banjul, The Gambia October 7, 2022