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The Sierra Leone Auditor General’s report reveals a shortfall of 16,243 bags of fertilizer from the Queen Elizabeth Quay store in Freetown.
According to the Auditor’s General’s report, it was stated that some 97,823 bags of fertilizers were donated to Sierra Leone by the Moroccan government in 2022.
The report confirms that between the period of 30th October and 3rd November 2022, such an amount of fertilizer was given to the government of Sierra Leone. In that, 81,580 bags were transported to the various stores: Stone One, Three, Four, and Black store at Kissy in Freetown.
The report continued that 16,243 bags of the said fertilizers were kept in a private store at the Queen Elizabeth Quay.
The report further stated that during the verification to ascertain the existence and conditions of the fertilizers on 20th March and 19th April of 2023 by a team of auditors, Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) was unable to physically count the 81,580 bags of fertilizers.
And of which that amount 23,569 bags were allegedly discovered at Store One; 14,488 bags at Store Three; 33,046 bags at Store Four and 10,540 bags at Black Store Kissy.
The auditors claimed the bags of fertilizers were not properly stacked, and so the team was unable to confirm the actual quantities held in these stores.
“Despite several requests, the team was not granted access to the Queen Elizabeth Quay to verify the 16,243 bags of fertilizers worth SLE 24,364,500,” the ASSL of 2022 report says.
Since the auditors were unable to physically count the bags of fertilizers, thus they couldn’t confirm whether or not the items were still kept in the store.
In their comment, the auditors conclude: “Concerning access at the Queen Elizabeth Quay Store to physically verify 16,243 bags of fertilizers alleged to have been kept in the said store, management still fails to grant the auditors access to carry out the verification, the issue remains unresolved.”
