By Fatou Sillah
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, has criticized certain journalists for misreporting audit findings, suggesting that many lack a proper understanding of the auditing process.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Dr. Ceesay emphasized that audit figures require context and should not be treated as isolated statistics. He expressed concern that some reports have exaggerated or misrepresented government debt and public expenditure figures.“Most of our analysts, particularly journalists who report on auditing, are not skilled and don’t have the competence to report on auditing. You need to understand the nuances and the complexities of auditing for you to report and analyze auditing,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay also addressed criticism of The Gambia’s debt-to-GDP ratio, noting that it is often assessed unfairly when compared to other nations. “All countries borrow; the average debt-to-GDP ratio in G7 countries is over 100 percent, Japan has 240 percent, America has 125 percent, and we are talking about 67 percent for Gambia, and we are complaining about that,” he explained.
Highlighting the importance of precise figures in audit reporting, he added that audit reports alone are not sufficient evidence for legal proceedings. “The audits themselves are not enough evidence in a competent court. It has to go through a process. It has to go through further investigations. Process has to be followed; we live in a democracy, and due process must be followed,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay also expressed concerns over the motivations behind some online reports. “There are quite a few people who call themselves journalists, by the way, whose reports, particularly those online, whose reports definitely, there is an agenda behind how they are reporting these audit reports,” he said.