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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has come under scrutiny after the Audit Service of Sierra Leone uncovered irregular payments of child and education allowances amounting to at least US$57,850 and €7,230 to staff for children deemed ineligible.
According to the Auditor-General’s Report, the Ministry continued to pay child and education allowances for children over the age of 18, despite previous audit recommendations warning against the practice. The audit examined a sample of personnel files from Sierra Leone’s foreign missions.
The Audit Service reported that eight staff members received a total of US$41,275 and €3,615 in child and education allowances even though birth certificates on record showed that the children were above the eligible age limit of 18 years.
In addition, 10 foreign mission staff were paid US$66,304 and €3,615.48 for similar allowances, but key supporting documents such as birth certificates and copies of children’s passports were missing from their personal files.
In its recommendations, the Audit Service advised the Director of Human Resources to work with the Director of Administration and Finance to recover the US$41,275 and €3,615 paid to staff with overage children and ensure the funds are paid into the Consolidated Fund.
The auditors further recommended that birth certificates and passport copies be submitted for children linked to the US$66,304 and €3,615.48 payments, warning that failure to do so should result in full recovery of the funds.
Responding to the audit query, management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it noted the findings and acted on the recommendations. In its official response, management stated that the affected staff were immediately contacted and insisted that the children for whom the allowances were paid were eligible. The Ministry also claimed that birth certificates and bio-data pages of passports were available and ready for verification.
However, the Auditor-General’s verification contradicted key aspects of the Ministry’s response. The audit report stated that no evidence was provided to support the eligibility of the eight staff members who received US$41,275 and €3,615. There was also no proof that the money had been recovered or paid back into the Consolidated Fund, leaving the matter unresolved.
For the remaining 10 staff who received US$66,304 and €3,615.48, the Audit Service confirmed that supporting documents were submitted and verified for six individuals. But documentation for four staff members, who together received US$16,575 and €3,615.48, was not provided. As a result, the auditors concluded that this part of the issue was only partly resolved.
The findings, published by the Audit Service of Sierra Leone, raise renewed concerns about compliance with public service regulations and financial controls within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, particularly in the management of allowances at foreign missions.
