The Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) after their audit into the financial activities of the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) for the 2022 financial year has discovered an inconsistency between NaCOVERC travel portal information and the Immigration Department Record.

According to the report, a review of data related to inbound and outbound passengers recorded by January and July 2022, showed a total of 52,708 and 76,875 passengers respectively traveled through the Lungi International Airport during the year under review.

The report continued that after the Auditors deducted the number of passengers under the following categories, like children under five years and others exempted, 640 in the travel portal, they observed that 18,635 and 68,283 inbound and outbound passengers respectively, should have paid the lab reveals testing fees.

The estimated revenue that should have been collected, excluding the exemptions, amounted to Le5.05 billion (Le5, 047,700,000).

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According to ASSL, it was stated that there was a difference between the number of passengers recorded in the travel portal and the number of passengers recorded by the Immigration Department Home noting that the sum of Le44.6 billion (Le44,565,650,000) was reported in the Financial Statements as revenue from lab testing fees which ASSL said resulted in a difference in lab testing fees of Le5.5 billion (Le5,482,050,000).

In addition, a total of Le587,656,753 was reported as credited bank account balances held in the accounts of DICOVERCS, and a total of Le50,657,489 was reported as overdrawn bank account balances.

The Auditors said that a memo sent to the District Coordinators on 11th November 2022, for the closure of their operating bank accounts was shared with the audit team.

However, NaCOVERC did not give the audit team the evidence of closure of the bank accounts of DICOVERCS.