By Kemo Cham
There has been outrage and condemnation in response to the latest reports from the Auditor General of Sierra Leone revealing massive irregularities, in what seems like business as usual in the mismanagement of public finances.
Two reports on the annual accounts of the government and the handling of funds meant for the response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic were tabled in parliament on Friday.
Details of the reports show that billions of leones are unaccounted for. They both followed a familiar pattern of unaccounted spending, inflated prices, breaches of contract, payroll irregularities, unapproved payments, unrecovered funds, unretired imprests and non-payment of withholding tax, among several others.
“We estimate that there have been losses in cash and stores amounting to Le65.5billion,” the auditors wrote in the report on the annual accounts of the government, adding: “As in previous years, this has occurred for a number of reasons, some inter-related and overall strongly suggested that public financial management has room for improvement in all MDAs.”
The report on the annual accounts of the government covers the period up to December 2019, while the report on the Covid-19 response covers the period from the moment the government commenced its response to the pandemic in March 2020.
The Covid-19 funds audit report entailed a damning indictment of the authorities in charge of the response effort – the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC). It revealed that officials at the NaCOVERC could not even account for assets they claimed to have paid for.
The agency was notably found to lack the authority under the Public Financial Management Law to have used Le 92.1 Billion the way it did. NaCOVERC officials were reportedly paid allowances in excess of Le 3.1 Billion.
Also captured in the report is the misuse of Public Funds by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to the tune of Le 5.2 billion
The NaCOVERC reportedly paid Le 6.2 Billion as allowances without even a basic human resource system in place, says the report. It also notes that the National Interim Coordinator of the outfit authorised (with the exception of healthcare workers paid in line with an MoU between MoF, MoHS and other stakeholders), this payment for April to June 2020, without any human resource management (HRM) system in place.
“Some 46 seconded public sector workers were paid allowances by NaCOVERC of more than 100% of their current salaries, in contradiction of the advice of the Ministry of Finance to NaCOVERC on this matter,” the report reads.
The recruitment and remuneration process was flawed, it further notes, adding that the system lacked transparency and credibility. The auditors said a bank error of Le 8, 500, 000, in favour of NaCOVERC, went unnoticed until it was discovered by the agents of the Auditor General’s office.
Ordinary Sierra Leoneans took to social media to discuss the revelations. And as always, the discussions are mostly along partisan political lines. While opposition sympathizers appear to slam the governing Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) for alleged corruption, the administration’s uncompromising supporters defend it.
For accountability campaigners, it is just another reminder of the need for proactive and tougher action against graft.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chief, Francis Ben Kaifala, welcomed the reports in a tweet in which he vowed to work with all stakeholders, including parliament and the Auditor General’s office to address the issues raised therein.
Parliament is expected to study the reports, debate them and recommend appropriate action, including referral to the ACC for further investigation and possible prosecution of any official found wanting.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
