The Deputy Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Paramount Chief Desmond Hawayei, has presented the findings and recommendations of the 2022 Auditor General’s report to Parliament.
Before presenting the report, PC Hawayei announced that the Committee had successfully recovered a total of 23 million new Leones during their investigation.
He highlighted that the Committee extensively examined key public interest issues, including poor revenue collection, irregularities in revenue collection, procurement breaches, and anomalies in payroll management.
PC Hawayei emphasized that engagement with stakeholders has strengthened accountability and oversight. In addition to recovering the 23 million Leones, the Committee resolved 70.2 percent of public queries related to the findings.
He commended the Auditor General and her team, the Committee Chairman, members, as well as the various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Local Councils for their cooperation in this initiative.
During the session, the Chief Whip of the opposition All Peoples Congress (APC), Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara, made a motion for the report to be debated. He noted that the general public has been closely following the work of the Committee and deserves to know the contents and recommendations of the report.
He expressed concerns about accusations of corruption directed at Members of Parliament, arguing that the real culprits are often found within the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). Kamara called for transparency to identify those responsible for corruption in the country.
Acting Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, urged the Kambia MP to formally request a debate on the report.