Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has announced the suspension of rent allowance payments for 60 civil servants pending a review of the 2023 audit report by the PAC.

Speaking on Monday, January 13, 2025, Hon. Tawa said the measure aims to address financial discrepancies highlighted in the report and to recover government funds from salaries and emoluments.

“The Rent Allowance is significant, and the government is preparing to start payments soon,” the Chairman noted. He explained that the PAC is mandated to ensure accountability by recovering public funds through appropriate channels.

Hon. Tawa also revealed that officials of the Ministry of Health must account for over 200 government vehicles procured in 2021 and 2022. The PAC plans to physically verify these assets and evaluate their usage during district tours. The tours will also include inspections of ongoing projects managed by contractors on behalf of various ministries.

“This time, the Committee will not accept documents from government officials unless they have been validated during the audit exercise,” Hon. Tawa emphasized.

The PAC has reportedly recovered more than 30 billion leones (Le30Bn) from businesses and institutions flagged in the 2021 and 2022 audit reports. Hon. Tawa cited Regulation 100 of the Public Financial Management Regulation, which prohibits unauthorized spending from donor or Consolidated Revenue Funds without valid payment vouchers.

“If I can garnish 11 accounts for previous audit reports, I see no reason why I won’t do the same for 2023,” he stated.

Hon. Tawa assured the public that the PAC would uphold its mandate to maintain financial accountability. “We will maintain high standards until the end of my leadership,” he said, reaffirming the Committee’s dedication to transparency and governance.