Growing Cash Loss in Auditor General’s Report---
BAN Expresses Concern
By Mohamed Konneh
The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) is concerned about the growing cash losses and other service delivery issues, as stated in the 2021 Auditor General’s Report in the face of an economic downturn. The cash losses grew from 153.9 billion (old Leones) in 2020 to Le187.3 billion (old Leones) in 2021. This has negative implications regarding the government’s ability to provide social services to the citizens. BAN also is therefore concerned about the attendant effect of these loses on the inadequacies of health, education, water and other services delivery.
BAN is worried that successive parliaments rarely give Audit Reports the deserved attention by failing to demand improved standards from MDAs or bring defaulters to account.
BAN notes with concern that the annual Audit Reports of 2019, 2020 and five Special Audit reports have not been discussed and no reports have been produced by parliament. “Failure by parliament to take adequate action on the 2019, 2020, and now 2021 findings may send the wrong signals about our country’s commitment to improving Public Financial Management (PFM), especially in the light of our impressive record in controlling corruption over the last four years. This may even sound contradictory-for how can corruption control be impressive when MDAs are seriously wanting in accountability!” The persistence corruption in Sierra Leone is not because of poor quality audits, but rather the historic unwillingness of MDAs to implement or address audit recommendations, with no consequences. We, however, want to commend the government for turning in an unqualified Audit Opinion in 2021 from a qualified opinion in 2020; and for proposing measures to strengthen audit accountability, which, if implemented, will increase the implementation of audit recommendations. We are encouraged by the recent efforts by the ACC to investigate findings and take action on the Audit Reports. We want to entreat the ACC to do more by expanding its investigations to the service delivery issues in the report. BAN believes that parliament has a great role in holding duty bearers accountable on audit accountability issues.
