PHEEW!!
ABOUT LE300 BILLION VANISHED AGAIN
By Ibrahim Alusine Kamara (Kamalo)
The Annual Report of the Auditor-General on the accounts of Sierra Leone for the Financial Year ended 31st December 2024 is out, assessing how state institutions such as, ministries, departments, agencies (MDAs), local councils, sub-vented institutions, public enterprises, and donor-funded projects, used, protected, and accounted for public resources in 2024.
The document examines the level of accountability for public resources, compliance with relevant laws, and value-for-money in government programmes, and highlights key issues that were observed by auditors during the course of their work. It also identified instances of good practice while emphasizing on areas where priority should be given for improvement. At large, the report aims to support not just the legislative arm of the government in its oversight functions, but promote prudent financial management and improved service delivery for the people of Sierra Leone.
However, during auditing, the auditors found out financial improprieties, noncompliance with applicable laws, regulations, financial procedures, or approved policies, and weaknesses that compromise the integrity of the financial management process.
In a sense, several bank withdrawals were discovered to have been made without payment vouchers and supporting documents, imprests not retired, non-compliance with contract terms was prevalent, and the breaches were payments made without delivery of goods and services, or completion of works.
Also, assets procured in 2024 were mostly not available for physical verification, and store items mostly not being accounted for. Further, non-payment of statutory deductions— GST, withholding and PAYE taxes— was evident in 2024.
In some MDAs, auditors could not establish the state of salaries payroll management, as staff did not present themselves for physical verification. In some other institutions, revenues collected and transferred through the transit banks could not be traced to the Consolidated Fund, and duty waiver concessions were granted to ineligible individuals and institutions.
The report shows NLe9,623,044.50 (9,623,044,500 billion old Leones) bank transfers at Customs & Excise Department, NLe6,586,791.15 (6,586,791,150 billion old Leones) bank transfers of GST payments, and NLe2,352,256.52 (2,352,256,520 billion old Leones) Income Tax bank transfers, all not traced to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and NLe1,545,648 (1,545,6468,000 billion old Leones) collected at the Road Safety Authority, NLe2,244,090 (2,244,090,000 billion old Leones) at Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission, all not transferred, while NLe7,042,879.47 (7,042,879,470 billiin old Leones) as Oil and mining customs prepayments were not traced via ASYCUDA.
Notably, total of the glaring financial irregularities uncovered by the auditors, according to the report, amount to a staggering NLe243,883,428 (two hundred forty-three billion old Leones), alongside $935,717.33 and €7,230.96 in unexplained or mismanaged funds. This is yet another sobering blow to public trust in a nation where over half the population lives in poverty and basic services remain a daily struggle.
For a fragile economy like Sierra Leone’s which is dependent on foreign aid, loans, and public debt relief, these figures are not just statistics, they represent stolen opportunity. They are enough to build schools, provide clean water to thousands of households, supply life-saving drugs in hospitals, or improve rural roads. Instead, they vanish into unaccountable hands within the corridors of power.
This latest revelation confirms the long-standing public perception that corruption, weak financial oversight, and impunity are deeply entrenched in the country’s governance systems. At a time when citizens are grappling with the soaring cost of living, crumbling infrastructure, and unreliable electricity and healthcare, the misuse of such large sums of money is not just unethical, but it’s criminal.
The Audit Report should serve as a wake-up call, not just to institutions tasked with financial control, but to the entire leadership of the country. For Sierra Leone to break the cycle of poverty, it must first plug the holes in its financial bucket. Accountability should no longer be optional; it must be enforced with urgency and without political bias.
Until then, reports like this will remain a yearly ritual—numbers on paper—while real change continues to elude the people who need it most.