The finance minister, Seedy Keita, has said a total of D27,507,510.00 was identified as misused public funds in the 2023 Auditor General’s report.
He made this statement on Wednesday, 10th June 2026, at the Assembly while responding to a question raised by the member for Janjanbureh.
Member for Janjanbureh, Hon. Omar Jammeh, also asked the Minister to explain to the Assembly what amount of public funds identified as misused in the Auditor General’s report for 2023–2024 has been recovered, and what evidence of recovery exists.
Minister Keita replied: “The total amount of public funds identified as misused in the 2023 Auditor General’s report amounted to D27,507,510.00, out of which D1,041,060.00 has been recovered.”
He added that in the 2024 Audit Report, “the total fraud cases amounted to D72,458,141.00.”
Minority Leader, Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe, asked the Minister to state the reasons for the significant gap between the allocations approved by the National Assembly for major development projects under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy between 2020 and 2023, and the actual funds disbursed.
In his reply, Finance Minister Keita explained that the significant gap between the approved allocation and actual disbursement for major development projects under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy between 2020 and 2023 was likely driven by donor-funded projects.
He said: “Some of the reasons for this gap can be attributed to delays in meeting donor disbursement conditions, signing of financing agreements, and procurement approvals, which can lead to funds not being released within the planned fiscal year.”
Hon. Darboe also asked the Minister to inform the Assembly what mechanisms the Ministry has in place to ensure project credibility, the timely release of approved budget funds, and the effective implementation of development projects included in the national budget.
Minister Keita said that the Ministry continues to strengthen the integration of donor-funded projects into the IFMIS system to improve budget execution, expenditure tracking, and reporting.
He also stated that the Ministry works closely with the Central Project Coordinating Unit (CPCU) to obtain monthly and accurate information on project implementation.
This, he said, is coupled with periodic country portfolio reviews, promoting efficient utilization of resources, and improving overall project delivery.
