The theme of the 2022 Auditor-General’s Report 2022 is: ‘’Reminder to Bring Duty Bearers to Account’’ for corruption-related issues. This implies that Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) is desperately calling on the Bio-Led Government and Parliamentary Accountability Committee (PAC) to bring duty bearers to account who used their positions of trust to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one’s gain through bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement at the expense of the state. Corruption and crime are systemic and endemic sociological occurrences that have been going on in the country for ages. With Bio coming to power, we were made to believe corruption was going to die but with the latest revelations in 2024, coupled with yearly audit reports, corruption appears with regular frequency in virtually almost in every department on a scale in varying degrees and proportions. Recent data suggests corruption is on the rise
Given the above, it brings to mind the statements of President Bio in April 2018, consequent to his assumption of office and after receiving the 12 Member Report of the Governance Transition Team (GTT) in which he stated ‘‘Corruption is at a level that can destroy this nation’’. He furthered saying: ‘’I consider the level of corruption that we have met as a national security issue.” These assertions of the President make sense and all Sierra Leoneans need is to put all hands on deck and stand tall against corruption, public enemy No. 1, if we are to combat corruption in the country.
By and large, the 12 Member Government Transition Team, comprised of Professor David J. Francis (Chair), Dr. Abass C. Bundu (member), Dr. Morie Manyeh (member), Mrs. Kona Koroma (member), Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa (member), Alhaji Kanja Sesay (member), Dr. Alie Kabba (member), PC Charles Caulker (member), Mr. Umaru Koroma (member), Mr. Dennis Vandi (member), Ms. Melrose Kargbo (member), Mr. Sahr Jusu (member), Hon. Suahilo Koroma (member) and Dr. Dennis Sandy (Secretary).
The team reported that Corruption under former President Koroma took the economy to the brink of collapse and recommended the setting up of a judicial commission to recover stolen state assets including buildings, land, and hundreds of government vehicles. The recommendation eventually led to the establishment of the Three Commissions of Inquiry (CoI) from which the ACC made some remarkable discoveries.
Mindful of the menace of corruption and the need to combat it, President Bio established the Three Commissions of Inquiry and strengthened the ACC with the 2019 Amendment Act.
However, Audit reports year in and year out show corruption still thrives, and it is still business as usual in the country with duty bearers failing to heed the needful as recommended by the Auditor-General’s Report. The report shows duty bearers embark on a corruption spree without accountability.
‘’In fulfilling our mandate, as stipulated by section 119 (2) of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, we are pleased to present our report for the year ended 31st December 2022’’ stated Abdul Aziz, Acting Auditor –General of Audit Service Sierra Leone in his Transitional Letter to the Clerk of the Sierra Leone House of Parliament, Hon. Paran Umar Tarawallie, who is paradoxically under investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for allegations of corruption related offences.
The 2022 Auditor General’s Report like the previous reports is damning, outrageous, and disingenuous on the side of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) taking credence to the magnitude of irregularities and cash losses found among the 108 audits conducted, including 32 Ministries and Departments, 45 Public Enterprises and Commissions, 22 Local Councils, 6 D and Diplomatic Missions and 3 performance audits. The findings show corruption still thrives as a business as usual.
‘’The report contains irregularities with a financial impact that we wish to bring to the attention of Parliament in accordance with section 95 (1) of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016’’, the 2022 Audit Report specified. Among other things, the Report shows irregularities in the acts of omission and commission by MDAs in contravention of public Finance management laws and regulations in the country alongside the contract agreements, and other applicable statutory instruments that were in existence during the scope of the audits. The Report specified the irregularities within the public financial management system into 7 categories vis –-a-vis imprest not retired; statutory deductions not paid, assets and stores management; payments /expenditures management; salary and payroll management; procurements and contracts management and revenue management.
In 2018, 12 Member Team reported that: ‘’The Governance Transition Team has uncovered evidence of the former government facilitating the inappropriate acquisition of state’s assets and properties by relatives and close friends of the former president,” The Report also stated: “There is also evidence of inflated government contracts being inappropriately awarded to such relatives and friends,” it said, citing fiscal indiscipline as another problem.
‘’An astonishing level of fiscal indiscipline and rampant corruption by the former APC Government of President Ernest Koroma had led to the near-collapse of Sierra Leone’s economy by the time the Government of President Julius Maada Bio was sworn into office. The economy was left burdened with external debt amounting to US $1.6 billion, domestic debt amounting to Le 4.99 trillion or US$658 million, and an exploded payroll (salaries and other compensation for government employees) of Le.2 trillion (US $263 million) or 14.4% of the GDP. The national currency became moribund, trading at Le.7600 to a dollar”.
The Report recommended that Audit Service Sierra Leone carry out technical audits of the agencies relating to telecommunications, energy, and revenue (NRA) as well as NASSIT, the Bank of Sierra Leone, and the two state-owned Commercial Banks, which have been embroiled in loan scandals over the past years.
With the GTT Report, Sierra Leoneans were made to believe that the emergence of President Bio would nip corruption in the bud, if not mitigate it, and make it less expensive but from the look of things the roof is leaking more than ever.
According to the GTT Report, the external debt amounted to US $1.6 billion and the domestic debt amounted to Le 4.99 trillion or US$658 million. As of 2021, Sierra Leone external debt amounted to $2,453,032,240, a 16.3% increase from 2020; $2,109,218,657 in 2020, a 13.65% increase from 2019 and in 2019 the external debt amounted to $1,855,825,335, a 5.61% increase from 2018, which the GTT puts at $1.6 billion, which was about $1,757,230,853, a 0.25% increase from 2017. Sources World Bank/ Microtrend.net (<a href=’Sierra” rel=”noreferrer noopener” target=”_blank”>https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/SLE/sierra-leone/external-debt-stock’>Sierra Leone External Debt 1970-2024</a>. www.macrotrends.net. Retrieved 2024-02-05.)
Sierra Leone’s Domestic Interest Debt is to Amount to NLE 3.8 Billion in 2024, says Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura. He projected that the total Interest debt service payments will amount to 4.1 billion in 2024.
According to the Auditor General Report 2022, Sierra Leone is at High Risk of Debt Distress.
‘‘The total outstanding public debt of the Government as of 31st December 2022 was SLE 47, 577, 345, 870 which is 94% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We noted that domestic revenue of SLE 8,088,376,000 could not meet the debt service obligation (SLE 14,879,143,000) for 2022’’ Audit Report stated that:
Looking at the aforementioned external and domestic debt in Sierra Leone, it goes without saying that is at high risk of debt distress, the debt rate has increased unimaginably from $1.6 billion in 2018 to over $ 2.4 billion in 2021 giving rise to African Development Bank led by Akinwunmi Adesina caution President Bio. And by the Audit Report 2022 SLE 47, 577, 345, 870.
The GTT Report hits on the national currency rate to the USD describing it as becoming moribund. According to the report, the national currency became moribund, trading at Le.7600 to a dollar’’ Five years on the national currency liquidated from Le 7600 to a dollar in 2018 to SL 24,000/ NLE 24 to a dollar. The depreciation of the Leone has come to affect every facet of the lives of the people because of its ripple effects on socio-economic services.
Talking about corruption and mitigating it, President Bio should go back to the GTT Report of 2018 put up his seat belt take a drive, and commit himself to the fight against corruption which is now becoming prevalent in our country. The overall estimated financial impact of the irregularities is worrying because in 2022, the General Purpose Financial Statements (GPFS) shows SLE 39, 724, 763; Ministries and Departments at SLE 98,565,422 ($ 969-433); Diplomatic Missions at $108,768.00, Public Enterprises at SLE 178,780,479 ($113,507) and Local Councils at SLE 9,937,462, all predicated at financial impact irregularities.
The financial impact of irregularities across ministries and departments in 2022 is SLE 138, 290,185 ($ 969,442,57). Too grave for a country with a small economy with a per capita income ranked as having the least in the world.
