By Ramatoulie Jawo
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Public Accounts (FPAC) has resolved that the Grant Management Committee (GMC) and the Gambia Press Union (GPU) must return the sum of 585,159.86 GMD, the unused funds for the COVID-19 relief support to media houses, on or before September 25, 2023.
FPAC emphasizes that if the money is not returned, the Inspector General of Police will launch an investigation into the matter immediately.
“The Grant Management Committee (GMC) and Gambia Press Union (GPU) must return to the Accountant General Department (AGD) the sum of GMD 585, 159.86 being the unused money for the Covid-19 relief support to media houses, within 10 days; failure of which, the Inspector General of Police to launch an investigation for possible prosecution,” FPAC stated.
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Infrastructure (MoICI) has been approved for GMD 15 million from the supplementary appropriation bill passed by the National Assembly as support for the media houses.
The Ministry of Information, Communication, and Infrastructure (MICI) was delegated to provide support to media houses in The Gambia. The funds were distributed to both private and community media outlets, including newspapers, radio, TV, and web-based platforms.
The money was later transferred to an account opened by the Gambia Press Union (GPU) at the direction of the Grant Management Committee (GMC).
The FPAC report reveals that a compliance audit was performed by the auditors on the support of media houses, mainly on the disbursements of funds to the media houses and whether those funds were utilized by the respective media houses under the policy put in place.
The report also pointed out that confirmation of the funds disbursed to media houses showed that there were unused balances amounting to GMD585,159.86 from the total amount disbursed.
“The Auditors could not confirm if this balance was subsequently used or paid back to the account, as bank statements to verify the balances were not provided. Non-Submission of Financial and Narrative Reports by the Grantees: No financial and narrative reports were received from some grantees, contrary to the provisions of the grant agreement. As such, the Auditors could not ascertain whether the funds received were used for the intended purpose,” the report disclosed.