Reports and financial statements of public enterprises and agencies would be placed under the watchful eyes of members of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly from Monday, August 25 to August 30.

This announcement was made by the speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay, during a briefing, on Monday, at the National Assembly building in Banjul.

Hon Jahumpa-Ceesay said the exercise is in pursuance of the powers bestowed on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the provisions of Section 102, Section 109 and Section 110 of the 1997 Constitution.

 "The National Assembly would never shy away from its statutory responsibilities of performing its scrutinising role over public enterprises,” she said, adding that the principal objective of this statutory exercise is to perform lawful checks, scrutinise and oversee public enterprises and agencies, as well as the public service delivery systems, with a view to ensure accountable to the Gambian people.

However, Speaker Jahumpa-Ceesay clearly emphasised that this exercise must not be misconstrued as a witch-hunt, as it is not intended to target anyone.

Specialists
Speaker Jahumpa-Ceesay disclosed that Mr Alhagie Kaba Mai Jallow, a former president of the Gambia Association of Accountants, Mr Augustus Prom, the chief executive of the Augustus Prom Auditing and Management

Firm and Mr Jefferey Renner, a chartered accountant and president of the Gambia Association of Accountants have been appointed to serve as specialists in assisting the Public Accounts Committee during their deliberations.

Appreciation
"At this juncture, I wish to acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation, the extraordinary goodwill and efforts of the 20 public institutions and enterprises who have done everything within their means and powers to comply and conform strictly with the Constitution of The Gambia by submitting their reports, accounts and financial statements to the National Assembly on time for statutory considerations and scrutiny by the honorable members,” the speaker remarked.