“A total of Le591,435,000 stated in the NRA Finance Officer’s record as lodgements into the NRA Immigration Account at the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) was not traced to the bank account at the BSL, and reconciliation between the NRA’s Finance Department and Bank of Sierra Leone was not done,” the audit report revealed.

The Auditors recommended that the Commissioner, Non-Tax Revenue should provide evidence to confirm that the individual lodgements totaling Le591,435,000 were banked into the Immigration NRA Account at the BSL, and to provide evidence of reconciliation with the BSL.

Otherwise, the amount not traced would be paid into the consolidated Fund by the Commissioner.

The Commissioner, Non-Tax Revenue responded that the said amount of Le588,335,000 has been traced to the Bank of Sierra Leone statements as individual transactions not as aggregate transactions because the auditors took into consideration the aggregate figures from the Accountant General’s pay-in slip and not the individual transaction as stated on the bank statement and that a total balance of Le3,100,000 is yet to be traced.

“Copy of the bank statement and pay-in slips where this transaction can be traced are available for your inspection. To prevent future happenings of this, the revenue officers are advised to record the transactions individually on the Accountant General’s pay-in slip to deposit cheques, this will help in the auditing and reconciliation process,” the report revealed.

Despite the explanation of Commissioner Non-Tax Revenue, the Auditors concluded that the matter is unresolved.