Panic Grips Corrupt Sierra Leone Government Officials as Auditor General Set to Release 2020 Audit Report

Anytime from now, the Auditor General’s Department will present the nation with the financial audit for fiscal year 2020.

The report which is presented to Parliament and the President annually gives detailed account of how the monies allocated to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government were utilized.

The Auditor General, Mrs. Lara Thomas reports that the 2020 audits, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, were not completed because during the year most MDAs maintained half work capacity; following government directives to cut down on the number of staff nationwide during the period. This she said resulted in delays and unavailability of audit clients to provide requisite information for the audit.

She added that the pandemic also prevented their staff from benefitting from much needed face to face continuous professional development trainings. However, she said that amidst these constraints, ASSL staffs were able to consolidate the knowledge acquired in the 2019 Integration Audits and from introduction of new audit methodologies as dictated by the Financial Audit and Compliance Audit Manuals.

She acknowledged the role played by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee for its continued scrutiny of their reports and other oversight bodies. Their support, she said, is critical to ensuring the achievement and sustainability of audit outcomes.

Meanwhile, the 2019 audit report, like previous ones, was full of evidence of massive misappropriation or mismanagement of public funds. Over one hundred million United States Dollars in government revenue were reported to be unaccounted for missing.

Lara Thomas in her statement on the 2019 audit highlighted that they identified areas that need improvement and took great care to make practical recommendations based on the findings.

According to The Exclusive, the recommendations she stressed are a critical part of the audit reports and underscored that their implementation is important to drive positive delivery of programs and services in the country.