Ignored Audit Recommendations Pose Major Accountability Risk, Budget Advocacy Warns
Aminata Koroma Abu Bakarr Kamara, Coordinator of the Budget Advocacy Network, has warned that Sierra Leone’s biggest accountability challenge is not missing audit reports, but the persistent failure to implement their recommendations.
Speaking on SLIK TV, Kamara said the repeated appearance of the same audit queries each year reflects weak enforcement, poor institutional coordination, and a lack of political will to tackle public financial mismanagement.
He noted that Parliament, the Executive, and other oversight institutions have clearly defined responsibilities under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for audit follow-up, yet implementation of recommendations remains slow and largely ineffective.
“When audit violations are not sanctioned and there is no meaningful follow-through, they become normalised,” Kamara stated.
He said the consequences of this failure are ultimately borne by citizens, who suffer from poor service delivery, wasted public resources, and a lack of value for money.
Kamara called for decisive action, urging authorities to enforce audit recommendations, regularly publish progress reports on their implementation, and apply clear consequences for violations.
He warned that without these measures, public financial mismanagement will continue unchecked, further undermining accountability and public trust.