By Buba Gagigo
The Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of the National Assembly has discovered that a staff member of the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC) defrauded the commission using fuel coupons. The payments made to the staff member were not reported to the National Audit Office, the Ministry of Finance, or the Inspector General of Police.
According to the FPAC, the GCCPC presented its annual Activity Reports and audited Financial Statements for the years ended from 31st December 2018 to 31st December 2021. Their last review took place in 2017.
The Standing Committee on Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) found that a case of staff fraud at GCCPC was not reported to the necessary authorities. The FPAC committee reported that they made several observations during their meeting with the GCCPC Board and Management.
“a) The allowances paid to certain staff were not captured in the approved service rule.
b) The land allocated to GCCPC has not been developed since 2012.
c) Birth certificates to confirm that the dependents are biological children were not in the personnel files of employees.
d) Medical cards of some staff members who left during the year under review 2020-2021 were not provided.
e) Cash certificates as at 314 December 2020 and 314 December 2021 respectively were not provided for review.
f) Certain items supplied to the commission by UNDP and MOTIE are not recognized in the financial statements.
g) An amount of D43,011 due to the commission in relation to an ex-staff loan since 2020 has not been paid and no evidence was shown for the payment of the said amount,” it’s states.
After their findings, the FPAC committee recommends that NPF7B forms should be filled and submitted to the pensions authorities to ensure there is full compliance with the documentation as required; Management should look into developing these and allocated to be in compliance with the offer letter from the ministry of land and avoid never-ending rental expenses and Management should ensure that birth certificates are obtained for all staff to ensure all dependents using the medical scheme are biological children of the employees.
The committee also recommended that all medical cards of the staff leaving should be handed over to the commission; That management should ensure year-end cash counts are conducted and certificates issued and signed by a witness which act as supporting documents to confirm that the reported cash in the financial statement existed at the reporting date and that all assets in use by the commission that meets the criteria of a Capital grant should be disclosed
“Management should ensure such Assets in use by the commission that meet the criteria of a capital Grant scheme should be disclosed in line with the recommended accounting standard on capital grants and Management should ensure that the monies involved in the fraud case concerning fuel coupons should be fully recovered immediately,” the FPAC committee recommended.