Our Constitutional Mandate
Section 158
- There shall be an Auditor General whose office shall be an office in the public service.
- The Auditor General shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Public Service Commission.
- Before assuming the functions of his or her office the Auditor General shall take and subscribe to the prescribed oaths.
- Subject to the other provisions of this section a person holding the office of Auditor General shall vacate his or her office when he or she attains the compulsory retirement age, or upon the termination of his or her appointment by the President.
- A person holding the office of Auditor General may be removed from the office only for inability to perform the functions of his or her office (whether from infirmity of mind or body or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour or incompetenc
Section 159
- There shall be a National Audit Office in the public service of which the Auditor General shall be the head, and the other members of which shall assist the Auditor General in the performance of the functions conferred on him or her by this Constitution or any Act of the National Assembly.
- Subject to any Act of the National Assembly the staff of the National Audit Office shall be appointed by the Auditor General after consultation with the Public Service Commission, and, in the case of such senior or professional staff as may be prescribed by regulations of the Public Service Commission.
- The accounts of the National Audit Offi ce shall be audited by an appropriately qualifi ed auditor or firm of auditors appointed by the Finance and Public Accounts Committee.
- The Auditor General shall submit the annual estimates of expenditure for the National Audit Office for the following financial year to the President for presentation to the National Assembly in accordance with this Constitution. The President shall cause the estimates to be placed before the National Assembly without amendment, but may attach to them his or her own comments and observations.
Section 160
- The Auditor General shall before any money is withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund, ensure that the withdrawal is in accordance with the provision charging the same on that fund or the relevant Appropriation Act or other Act of the National Assembly and that it complies with the procedures prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly;
- The Auditor General shall satisfy himself or herself that money charged on the Consolidated Fund or other public fund, or appropriated by an Act of the National Assembly, and expended has been applied for the purpose for which it was so charged or appropriated, and that expenditure conforms to the authority that governs it;
- The Auditor General shall at least once in every year audit and report on the public accounts of The Gambia, the accounts of all offices and authorities of the Government of The Gambia, the accounts of the courts, the accounts of the National Assembly and the accounts of all Enterprises;
- The Auditor General shall within six months of the end of the immediately preceding financial year to which each of the accounts referred to in previous paragraph relates, report to the National Assembly on the accounts and draw attention to any irregularities in the accounts audited and to any other matter which, in his or her opinion, ought to be brought to the notice of the National Assembly;
- The Auditor General shall after his or her annual reports on the accounts of the Government of The Gambia, of all offices and authorities of the Government, of the courts and of the National Assembly have been discussed in the National Assembly, cause the same to be published for public information: Provided that where there is any undue delay in the discussion of any such accounts in the National Assembly, the Auditor General may publish his or her report in advance of such discussion; and
- The Auditor General shall exercise such other functions as may be conferred on him or her by an Act of the National Assembly.
- In the exercise of his or her functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Auditor General shall at all times carry out economic, efficient and effective examinations to satisfy himself or herself that public funds are spent in such manner as to reduce waste, eliminate in-efficiency and maximise the benefits to be gained from the use of resources;
- In the exercise of his or her functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Auditor General shall have power to disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and to surcharge: the amount of any expenditure so disallowed upon the person responsible for incurring or authorising the expenditure; or
- In the exercise of his or her functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Auditor General shall have power to disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and to surcharge: any sum which has not been brought into account upon the person by whom that sum ought to have been brought into account; or
- In the exercise of his or her functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Auditor General shall have power to disallow any item of expenditure which is contrary to law and to surcharge: the amount of any loss or deficiency upon any person by whose negligence the loss or deficiency has been incurred.
- A person aggrieved by any dis-allowance or surcharge made by the Auditor General may appeal to High Court.
- The Auditor General and any member of the National Audit Office authorised by him or her shall have power to call for and inspect all books, records, returns, reports and other documents in the exercise of the functions conferred upon him or her by this Constitution or an Act of the National Assembly and to make such inquiries and to call such witnesses who, in his or her opinion have any responsibilities in relation to the accounts referred to in subsection (1).
- Wherever discrepancies of a criminal or fraudulent nature are discovered during the audit of accounts by the Auditor General, he or she shall immediately cause a report of his or her findings to be submitted to the Inspector General of Police.
- Where the Government holds a minority interest in any company, the Auditor General may exercise, on behalf of the Government, the power to inspect the books of account of the company and report to the Government.
- In the exercise of his or her functions under this Constitution or any other law, the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
- Nothing in this Constitution shall preclude the Auditor General, at the request of the head or governing body of any public body, corporation or institution referred to in subsection (1) (c), or on his or her own initiative, from carrying out any special audit of such body, corporation or institution; and where he or she carries out such a special audit, it shall be reported to the Finance and Public Accounts Committee.
- The Finance and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly may extend the time within which any such report as is referred to in subsection (1) (d) shall be made to the National Assembly.
NAO Act
Other legislation that support our mandate
The National Audit Office Act 2015 establishes the independence of the office as in the Constitution, among other areas. You can read the act here.
Our work is guided by several other domestic and international laws, standards, guides and foundations that help our staff conduct in doing their work. Some of the documents listed here can be found on our website.
These principles are drawn from:
Our Strategic Development Plan 2020-2024
NAO Communication policy
Code of Ethics
Staff Service Rules
The Gambia National Development Plan 2018-2021
Financial Regulations 2016
Public Finance Act 2014
Supreme Audit Institutions-Performance Management Framework
funds, quality of our