CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE 2019 AUDITOR GENERALS REPORT
The Accountant General ‘s Office has released the 2019 Audit Report and it is a stunning catalogue of grand scale corruption and embezzlement of government’s resources by the President Maada Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ) Government.
The report is so damning with regards to the scale of corruption , graft, financial malfeasance and reckless misuse of the country’s funds that stunned Sierra Leoneans have taken to social media to condemn President Bio and his government for high level hypocrisy and deceit. The President had promised, while campaigning for power in 2018 , to plug all the holes and leakages of financial management.
According to the Audit Report, ” Transactions totalling Le2.26 billion were not supported by the relevant documentary evidence such as payment vouchers, contracts, receipts, and delivery notes. In addition, allowances amounting to Le3.77 billion were paid to employees without adequate supporting documents such as arrear processing forms, approved salary amendment letters, request letters, and recalculation sheets.”
The report concluded that : ” In the absence of the records and documentation, the purpose for which the expenditure was incurred could not be ascertained and it is possible that these payments may have been misclassified in the GPFS.” And this is a government that had been grandstanding about its revulsion of corruption, even setting up commissions of inquiry that exposed massive corruption in the previous All People’s Congress ( APC ) government and resulted in recommendations of asset seizures and orders on officials, including former President, Dr. Ernest Koroma, to refund millions of dollars into government revenue.
The 2019 Audit Report also observed that “… procurement activities totalling Le21 billion were not captured in the procurement plans of both the Ministry of Transport and Aviation and the Ministry of Water Resources. In addition, contracts were not advertised and letters of regret were not sent to unsuccessful bidders for procurement activities undertaken by the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, using an open competitive bidding method for the period under review. ”
“We also observed that conditions/clauses in the contracts between the Ministry of Energy and EMCO Construction and Logistics were not followed for the supply of electricity in Bo and Kenema cities. ”
Auditor General On COVID 19 Response.“In one instance, the signed contract in March 2020 between the MoHS and Buya’s Hotel requires the Ministry to pay the sum of Le400,000 per person per day for accommondation and feeding of persons who were quarantined at that hotel. On the other hand, the hotel was of the “understanding” that the Ministry had agreed to pay Le400,000 per room per day for all 110 rooms of the hotel regardless of the number of occupants.“ True to their misunderstanding of the contract, each time Buya’s Hotel invoiced the Ministry, they charged for 110 rooms regardless of the occupancy. The Ministry and later NaCOVERC paid these invoices without noting that they were contradicting the provisions of the contract details.“In total, and for the period 16th April to 28th May 2020, the sum of Le3,313,406,251 was paid to Buya’s Hotel, compared to the correct liabity of Le1,076,800,000 as calculated by the auditors (i.e the agreed rate of Le400,000 multiplied by the actual number of quests, and multiplied by the duration of their individual stays).175. Going strictly by the terms of the contract, it was noted that the lack of due deligence by both the MoHS and NaCOVERC in the payment of invoices under this contract, resulted in an overpayment to Buya’s Hotel of Le2,236,606,251. This amount should be refunded without delay, by either Buya’s Hotel or the approving MoHS and NaCOVERC officers.”From Page 51. Someone Must Go To Jail Oh.
Even the Office of President Bio was found to have embezzled millions of dollars. According to the report : ” We observed during the period under review that special imprest provided for overseas travel, expected to be used to cover the incidental costs of the President, were not retired in accordance with Section 114 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2018. The sum of US$160,000 was provided, but not retired in compliance with the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2018.”
“It is recommended that the Secretary to the President should provide adequate retirements details in line with the provision of the law.”
The offices of the Vice-President, Mr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh and the First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Bio were all found to have committed shocking corruption and graft.
READ THE FULL REPORT ABOVE
