By Fatou Sillah
A special audit of The Gambia’s Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation has identified D70.8 million (about $1.1 million) in unallocated member contributions, raising questions about internal controls and financial management at one of the country’s largest public institutions.
The audit, which covered the period from January 2022 through June 2024, was presented to the National Assembly’s Public Enterprise Committee. Auditors said the unallocated funds stemmed largely from incomplete payment information and the absence of a formal policy governing suspense accounts — temporary holding accounts used when contributions cannot immediately be matched to individual members.
According to the report, the largest share of unresolved contributions was found in the Federal Pension Scheme, totaling D62.1 million. An additional D988,034 was linked to the Injury Compensation Fund, while D17.3 million was associated with the National Provident Fund. Together, the figures amounted to D70,826,825.
Auditors warned that prolonged delays in allocating contributions could erode contributors’ confidence, distort the corporation’s financial obligations and reduce overall operational efficiency.
The report recommended that the managing director, working with the director of finance, develop a formal policy to govern the handling of suspense accounts. Such a policy, the auditors said, should require regular reviews and reconciliations and clearly assign responsibility to ensure contributions are allocated promptly.
In its response, the corporation’s management said it was treating the findings seriously, pointing to practical challenges in reconciling payments.
“The primary challenge is that contributors often make direct bank deposits without schedules, which complicates reconciliation,” management said in its written response to the audit.
Officials added that the balance in the suspense account had already been reduced from D70.8 million to about D50 million. Over the past five years, the corporation said, it had collected more than D2 billion in total contributions.
“While there is room for improvement, this demonstrates that SSHFC’s internal controls are effective despite external limitations,” the response said.
Management also confirmed that reconciliations were ongoing and that a comprehensive review of the system would be carried out to regularize all outstanding contributions.
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