One of the government institutions that could not account for billions of public funds in the 2021 Auditor General’s report that is replete with massive evidence of rampant corruption and mal administration is the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone.

According to the report, which is currently being investigated by Parliament, the Petroleum Directorate which sits under the office of the President has been found culpable of huge financial irregularities, as they could not account for various transactions amounting to over 3 Billion Leones it undertook during the 2021 fiscal year.

During wide-ranging auditing of the institution’s bank’s reconciliatory statement, it was revealed by the auditors that the Petroleum Directorate could not submit documentary evidence to explain 45 items of un-reconciling cheques for payments totaling Le, 009,577,773 and two items of un- reconciling deposits and credit amounting to Le2,221,748,202.

Even when these huge financial Improprieties were communicated to the management in due course and requested them to provide the relevant supporting documents to validate the said transactions, yet, they were unable to do so, In their response to the queries – before the auditors assembled – their final report, the management authoritatively assured that the detailed schedules relating to the said queries have been downloaded from the accounting system and are available for their perusal and review.

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According to the report, it seems that the assurance was a scam, as the auditors still maintained in their final report that during verification, detailed schedules in support of the un- reconciling items were not presented for review.

Hence, these financial gaffes exhumed in the institution’s outflows, especially at a time, when the government is in dire need of funds to rekindle the country’s depleting economy, still remains of ultimate concern to the auditors, given the quantum of state resources that have been supposedly misused or diverted.

Similarly, in the 2020 Auditor General’s report, Petroleum Directorate still has a range of unresolved financial seepages uncovered in its expenditure for the FY 2020. Some of these financial wrongdoings emanated from procurement irregularities, non- provision of business license, tax clearance certification, and Paye taxes.

Also, huge financial irregularities were also exposed in the management of its expenditure. Though the management provided few supporting documents to validate some of these expenses, yet, there are still significant outstanding financial misgivings that are yet to be resolved.

The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) has raised grave concerned over the growing cash losses and other service delivery issues, as stated in the 2021 Auditor General’s Report in the face of an economic downturn. According to BAN, the cash losses grew from 153.9 billion (old Leones) in 2020 to Le 187.3 billion (old Leones) in 2021 The upward cash losses, in year in, year out, through government ministries, departments and agencies has been a growing concern to the nation considering its negative implications on the government’s ability to provide social services to the citizens.