By Binta Jaiteh
Bakary Trawally, Director of Audit at the National Audit Office (NAO) Wednesday confirmed to the lawmakers that in the 2020 financial statement of Janjanbureh Area Council payment amounting to Forty-seven thousand dalasi was made without a supportive document.
Speaking during a consultation meeting with the former staff of Janjanbureh Area Council on the 2019 and 2020 Financial Statement and Activity Report of the council with the National Assembly committee on Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC), Trawally said “According to our report disclaimer of opinion among them is unpresented payment vouchers whereby all the payment vouchers were not presented, improper maintenance of main cash book, trial balance, unprecedented DTR, payroll, and contract document.
“Audit is based on samples because before a document is attached a voucher should be prepared. If there were missing vouchers that one is more of a severe finding than a document being attached.”
Allagie Manneh, former Director of Finance Janjanbureh Area Council from February 2021 to May 2021 explained that in the handing over note, there is an excel sheet of the cash book for 2019, which was handed over but a laptop that has all the financial statements was not handed over. For that reason, he could not get access to the finance documents.
He claimed that the laptop was not handed over at the right time and it was not used to detect the financial records. “The figures cannot be verified and most of the vouchers lack signature those vouchers cannot be relied on to prepare a financial document,” he disclosed.
He went on that “the vouchers were in bulk due to it, but it could not be confirmed till the auditors’ query. They went through the vouchers and it was realized that some vouchers were not signed, no signature and no backup, and incomplete ledgers in the records.”
“I had my doubts about the payroll when I took over part of the first issues. I established in the council to set up a committee which includes the establishment committee with both chairpersons to do a physical verification of the individuals that are listed in the payroll.
“After the verification, we had a report that had a significant influence on the payroll at the time and then the payroll was adjusted on a soft copy that was used at the time,” he added and said there are names on the payroll that does not exist.
However, Allagie S Darboe, Chairperson of the committee schedule the council to reappear and hand over the reports to the members for thorough scrutiny, and the council will appear on the 13 of February.