ADM Leader Urges MDAs To Implement Auditor General’s Recommendations The Leader/Chairman of the Alliance Democratic Movement (ADM), Mr. Mohamed KamarianbaMansaray, has analyzed the 2013 accounts of the Sierra Leone Government as well as associated institutions that does not make good reading for all those wishing the country well as instances of massive financial irregularities are laid bare by the Auditor-General, Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce.Mr. Mohamed KamarianbaMansarayunderscored that the recommendations of the Auditor-General would ultimately build trust in public officials, institutions and systems responsible for effective financial management underlining that Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce has again drawn attention to several instances of non-compliance with financial and other regulations, as well as errors that occurred in the processing of transactions as a result of systemic weaknesses that have persisted over time and other break-downs in internal controls underlining that the Auditor General has provided recommendations which, if implemented, can serve to reduce the incidence of the irregularities and correct the causes of the conditions reported on. One would have believed that given the various recommendations made in previous audit reports, those controlling the purse strings of the peoples resources would have mended their ways and would have done the right thing as required by the countrys financial regulations, orders as well as the Constitution. The 2013 audit report has a special focus on the countrys procurement methods-rules of procurement as against what obtains on the ground with these provisions aimed at giving true stewardship of how the peoples resources are managed/mismanaged. Indeed in the introduction to this years report which has been given a qualified except for opinion, the Auditor-General stated- It must be noted that the various issues giving rise to my qualified except for opinion are very serious in terms of their effect on the accounts, and need to be dealt with urgently. Unfortunately, they serve to further confirm the governments widely held reputation of being unable to decisively deal with poor public financial management. Our public servants could and should do better. As I have said before, with a stronger commitment and willingness to address public financial management reform and strong enforcement of existing well-established laws and regulations, the matters could be put right quickly as other countries have done. That is the responsibility of the government and all public officials. Parliamentarians, Ministers and public sector managers at all levels need to provide leadership in not accepting petty and grand corruption as normative. Those in position to do so should follow the money when things go wrong. As citizens, none of us should ever accept fiduciary irresponsibility from those charged with holding the strings of the public purse. To do so is morally corrosive, erodes our civic rights and damages our hard-won young democracy. The 2013 report on the governments finances in 2013 also directs the spotlight of probity and accountability on previous such reports and the fate of recommendations made by the Auditor-General where financial malfeasance had been detected and moves suggested as to how to put a stop to such financial impropriety in the handling of the peoples resources. It shows a lack of leadership and the deliberate action of government operatives-from State House to ministries and associated organs of governance-to ignore findings included in the audit reports. In a section headed - Follow-up on Previous Recommendations, the report notes- Almost without exception our observations and recommendations are not being given the attention they deserve or that Parliament, citizens and international donors have a right to expect. For example, Freetown City Council has implemented less than 4% of our recommendations and, from the nine entities reviewed, another three have implemented less than 10%. Overall only 19% have been implemented. In absolute numbers, for the three years 2010 to 2013 there were 682 recommendations for the nine entities of which 130 were implemented, 508 were not implemented and 44 are in process. There is a clear pattern of ASSL repeating observations across all the audit entities reviewed. The areas of repetition relate to basic tenets of public financial management and compliance with the laws of this country. Dereliction of duty by public officers in question is largely in the following areas: Cash management and internal control; Compliance with procurement laws and regulations, basic records maintenance of an administrative and financial nature and protection of assets. In the area of procurement-getting goods and services that government operatives say are needed for the efficient running of government machinery in accordance with good financial principles and management, the audit report states - A total of Le9.2 billion was identified as procurements undertaken by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the supply of goods and services for which procurement procedures were not followed. An amount totaling Le13.3 billion represented procurements carried out but certain salient documents such as performance bond, GST returns and contracts documents were not submitted upon request. An amount of Le1.64 billion out of a total contract price of Le2.3 billion was paid before signing of the contract for the supply of 99,477 yards of uniforms by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. The payment date preceded the contract date. Furthermore, money is paid out of the peoples purse to contractors even before contracts are signed-clearly a well-oiled criminal enterprise. From the appointment of Chairmen/women of Boards to those who get to sit on the Boards thereby rendering the independence of these institutions a fairy tale. One could clearly discern the frustrations of the Office of the Auditor-General when every year, after pointing out anomalies that must be corrected including the payment of monies not accounted for, the same corrupt practices get repeated all the time. It is my view that the action of the executive arm of government towards the implementation of the recommendations outlined in this report and others in the past when debated and approved by Parliament has not been very effective in achieving the goals of public financial management reforms in this country. The ADM Leader/Chairman appealed to the Executive and Parliament to collaborate with the Auditor-General in making sure that those who are charged with the implementation of programs and/or projects adhere to the constitutional and statutory provisions aimed at directing public financial management so as to achieve enhanced transparency, accountability and good governance.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 20:11:32 +0000
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