Audit Questions: D329.5 Million Transfer From Contingency Fund to Cover Routine Government Expenses

By Fatou Sillah

The National Audit Office (NAO) has raised concerns over the government’s transfer of D329.5 million from the Contingency Fund to finance routine government expenditures, arguing that the practice may be inconsistent with the legal purpose of the fund.

The findings are contained in the Government of The Gambia’s Financial Statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2025, where auditors questioned the transfer of D329,505,582 from the Contingency Fund to the Other Charges budget line.

According to the report, the funds were used to finance predictable operating expenses, including official travel, training activities, and payments to suppliers.

“The audit noted that GMD 329,505,582.00 was vired (transferred) from the Contingency Fund to Other Charges to finance routine, predictable expenses such as travels, trainings, and suppliers’ payments. Such expenditures are permissible only under unforeseen circumstances and require parliamentary consideration,” the report states.

The auditors warned that using contingency resources to cover foreseeable and budgeted expenditures undermines the fund’s intended purpose of responding to genuine emergencies. They cautioned that such practices expose the government to fiscal risks by reducing its ability to respond to unexpected events and could increase the likelihood of additional borrowing during emergencies.

The report further states that financing routine government operations through the Contingency Fund distorts the approved national budget and contravenes the legal framework governing the use of contingency resources.

The NAO recommended that government authorities provide a clear explanation for the transfers and ensure that the Contingency Fund is used strictly for its intended purpose.

“Management should immediately restrict the use of the Contingency Fund to only those expenditures that are truly unforeseen, urgent, and impossible to plan for,” the auditors recommended.

In its response, management acknowledged that transfers from the Contingency Fund should ordinarily be reserved for emergency spending but maintained that the expenditures were necessary to address unforeseen budgetary pressures.

“Management admits that virements from the contingency budget line should be strictly reserved for emergency expenditures. However, the referenced virements were undertaken to address unforeseen budgetary pressures that were essential to ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted operations of Government. Henceforth, virements from contingency and other charges will be strictly monitored to cater to disaster and health emergency issues,” management stated.