By Kemo Cham
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is wasting no time to put into motion moves to act in respect to the just released 2019 Auditor General’s Report.
The Commission said on Monday that three officials attached to the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) have been detained in relations to missing laptops and the controversial procurement of luxury (SUV) vehicles, as captured in the reports released by Audit Service Sierra Leone.
Moriss Ibrahim Kanteh, Assistant Public Relations Officer at the ACC, said: “I can confirm that we have made some arrests, up to three people have been arrested and currently detained at the ACC to help in investigations on some of the issues pertaining to that [audit] report.”
Conteh who was speaking in a telephone interview said the arrests were just the first of more that are expected to happen as investigations on the reports progress.
The two reports from Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL): one on the annual report on the account of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the year ending December 2019, and another on funds allocated to the ongoing national response to the Covid-19 pandemic, were tabled before parliament last week, when they became public documents.
According to the reports, a total of Le178 billion was unaccounted for.
The reports are like replicas of the 2018 audit reports, revealing a familiar pattern of irregularities: unauthorized spending, inflated prices, breach of contract, payroll violations, among several others.
The report on the funds allocated to the Covid-19 response efforts revealed that some Le92.1 billion was spent in questionable manner. Officials in charge of NaCOVERC could not account for assets they claimed to have procured, among them vehicle, it notes.
Conteh said the ACC has immediately instituted investigations on three main issues captured in the Covid-19 audit report: the 47 laptop computers said to be unaccounted for, a generator donated to the NaCOVERC by the Chinese embassy, which is valued at over Le200million, and the controversial procurement of SUVs for use by NaCOVERC officials at the height of the pandemic.
“There is the possibility that more individuals might be brought in,” Conteh said, while declining to disclose the identities of those detained, citing its potential implication on ongoing investigations. He could only disclose that those detained were staff who made decisions on the issues under investigations.
The two audit reports sparked outrage among Sierra Leoneans, many of whom took to social media to vent their frustrations.
All eyes are now on especially the ACC which is under pressure to act.
The Commission said in a statement on Monday that it attaches “utmost importance” to the Auditor General’s Reports and would act accordingly in line with prescribed laws, asking the public to exercise patients as it studies the reports.
“The ACC is now examining the reports with a view to ascertaining violations of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 as Amended in 2019, or needs for intervention by the ACC; and/or identify system weaknesses within the audited institutions for appropriate prevention efforts to address them,” it said, adding that “anyone found wanting shall face the full consequences prescribed by law with no exceptions.
The 2019 audit reports come as the ACC continues to deal with issues raised in the 2018 reports.
According to the Commission, it identified 21 issues in the previous report, which covers the period 2015 to 2018. It said presently there are 14 active investigations, with two in court and a handful of others closed down due to lack of enough evidence to pursue.
According to its serialized updates on progress in the investigation of the reports, the Commission said it has so far recovered Le2.7billion.
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