The 2022 Audit Service Report has stated that, in the audited financial statement of NASSIT for 2022, it was reported that the Government of Sierra Leone owed NASSIT a total of Nle416,285, 714 for contributions and pensions.
According to the report, Section 25 of the NASSIT Act (2001) requires that the employer and the employee should pay a contribution of (15% of earning/income) to the Trust within 15 days after the end of each month. Section 27 of the NASSIT Act (2001) also states the penalty for non-payment of contribution.
The Auditors, however; observed that several cheques issued to pay NASSIT contributions were not recorded in the wages and salaries’ account.
The report revealed that in 2022, there was a 13% increase in wages, salaries and employee benefits as compared to 2021.
It continued that the amount rose from SLE 3,769, 446, 000 to SLE 4,314,179,000.
The report furthered that the government wage bill however remained at 8% of GDP. Throughout 2022, the report indicated that several human resource/payroll reforms were implemented.
It went on that one of the significant reforms was to ensure that all public workers on the payroll were registered with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) and had a valid National Identification Number (NIN).