Why Gambia’s parliament is furious with the vice president over $2.1 million missing funds
Gambia's Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) has criticised the Office of the Vice President for failing to respond to parliamentary resolutions covering over $2.1 million (D164 million) in public funds, sparking a debate in the National Assembly.
Presenting FPAC’s latest progress report, Vice Chairperson Alhagie Mbowe said that while other institutions, such as the Accountant General and Auditor General, had provided updates, the Vice President’s office had remained silent on almost every matter under its purview, the Point reports.
“Sadly, if you look at all the resolutions from page one to the last page, where the resolution required an update from the Vice President, none of them were forthcoming,” Mbowe told lawmakers, adding, “This is one of the clearest evidences that parliamentary resolutions are not respected by the executive.”
At the centre of MPs’ anger is the fate of over $1.7 million (D137 million) in COVID-19 relief funds overseen by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which falls under the Vice President’s office. FPAC’s report also flagged more than $1.3 million (D100 million) in undelivered food items and $480,000 (D37 million) in missing oil supplies meant for struggling Gambian families during the pandemic.
“This happened at the most trying time for our people. Some civil servants were receiving only half salaries, while public officers played with millions meant to feed the nation. Yet the Vice President has not updated this Assembly,” Mbowe said.
Lawmakers also cited other unresolved issues under the Vice President’s remit, including:
$234,000 (D18 million) in unretired imprest; $117,000 (D9 million) in fraudulent withdrawals from sub-treasuries; missing government vehicles and concerns over shady contracts at the National Environment Agency and foreign missions.
Lamin Ceesay, Member for Kiang West, accused the Vice President of showing “executive contempt” by ignoring parliamentary oversight. “How can the Vice President ignore corruption of this scale and not even give a reason? It is unacceptable,” he said.
Lawmakers warned that the continued silence from the Vice President’s office risks eroding public trust in the Assembly’s authority and undermining constitutional checks and balances.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
