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The Freetown City Council (FCC) has responded to a recent Tribunal report that accused the Auditor-General, Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce, and Deputy Auditor-General, Mr. Tamba Momoh, of failing to conduct a proper audit of the FCC’s finances for the year 2020.
In a press release, FCC outlined several clarifications addressing the report’s claims and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability.
According to the Council, the financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2020, were audited by Audit Services Sierra Leone (ASSL), and an unqualified audit opinion was issued.
The FCC emphasized that copies of the audited financial statements are available at their offices, and they have always fully cooperated with external audits conducted by ASSL, in compliance with legal requirements.
The Council also addressed concerns regarding the Transform Freetown projects, noting that most of the projects implemented in 2020 were donor-funded and managed by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), with no funds being directly handled by the FCC.
For those projects implemented by the FCC, all transactions were fully reflected in the financial statements audited by ASSL.
Furthermore, FCC stated that no donors have raised concerns regarding corruption or mismanagement of funds in relation to the Transform Freetown projects.
The Council clarified that it has never had to repay donor funds and that its projects have been recognized as examples of best practice both nationally and internationally. Detailed annual reports of the projects are available on the FCC’s official website for public scrutiny.
The FCC also highlighted a special audit commissioned by Parliament in 2022, which focused on the Transform Freetown projects and lasted six months.
Although the Council has not yet received the final report from that audit, it expressed confidence that it would provide further clarity on the implementation of the projects and dispel any misconceptions of mismanagement.
In conclusion, FCC reaffirmed its commitment to credible and independent audit processes as essential tools for assessing its programs and ensuring transparency and accountability in its service delivery to the people of Freetown. The Council remains open to such scrutiny as it continues its efforts to transform
Don’t pay attention to these radical fringe and primitive group called Paopa that is ravaging and bleeding the country – they want their hands on the “donor funds” forgetting that Audit Service was set up to audit monies from the Consolidated Fund, not donor-financed projects. Instead of supporting the FCC to attract foreign assistance, this lot of yahoos are doing their best to bring down the one person that has the goodwill to bring in foreign assistance. How primitive and backward can we be. Just watch the list of names of the State Witnesses in the tribunal report.