Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a qualified opinion on the 2021 financial statements of the National Environment Agency (NEA), citing the agency’s failure to value and record seven government-allocated properties, along with a range of governance and internal control weaknesses.
The findings were presented before the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of the National Assembly, where officials from both the NAO and the NEA appeared to respond to lawmakers’ concerns.
According to the audit report, the NEA did not include valuations for seven landed properties in its 2021 accounts, among them its headquarters. Six of the properties were leased to the agency by the Government of The Gambia for administrative use.
The NAO described the omission as a departure from fundamental accounting principles, noting that proper valuation would have materially increased the agency’s total asset base and accumulated income.
In addition to the qualified opinion, auditors raised an Emphasis of Matter, pointing to the absence of an adopted financial reporting framework. The NAO also referenced similar qualifications flagged in the agency’s 2020 audit, suggesting persistent compliance gaps.
For the year under review, the NEA reported total income of D47.5 million, comprising D26.3 million in government subvention, D19.9 million from fees and charges, and D1.2 million in other income.
Total expenditure stood at D46.4 million, resulting in a surplus of D1.08 million. The agency recorded total assets of D34 million, balanced by accumulated funds and liabilities.
Beyond financial reporting deficiencies, the audit identified systemic management weaknesses. These included irregular meetings of the National Environment Management Council, which is legally mandated to meet quarterly.
The NAO also flagged long-outstanding cheque deposits, lack of CCTV surveillance, unjustified fuel allocations to senior officials, absence of vehicle maintenance contracts, and payment of honoraria without an established policy framework.
Other control lapses cited were the absence of an annual budget, lack of management accounts, no whistleblowing mechanism, and the absence of a risk management framework.
Auditors further noted misclassification of transactions, weak imprest management, and non-compliance with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures, including the failure to gazette approved projects.
Appearing before FPAC, NEA Executive Director Dr. Dawda Badjie outlined achievements recorded in 2022, including strengthened enforcement operations, expanded public awareness campaigns, enhanced coastal monitoring, regulation of hazardous chemicals, and improved collaboration across sectors.
However, Dr. Badjie acknowledged ongoing constraints, including limited funding, inadequate laboratory capacity, and weak enforcement powers. He appealed for sustained government backing and legislative support through FPAC to enable the agency to effectively discharge its environmental protection mandate.
The FPAC is expected to make recommendations based on the audit findings as part of its oversight role over public institutions.
