By Ragan M Conteh
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon Sengepoh Solomon Thomas, has warned ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to avoid employing people into offices out of sympathy.
Hon Thomas also doubles as Chairman of the Public Account Committee in Parliament.
He said people should employ people in office based on output and competency.
Hon. Thomas said officials in government offices should not wait for auditors before preparing their documentation for audit.
The deputy speaker has also ordered the Ministry of Mines to pay the sum of NLe 30,000 fine to the consolidated fund against Tuesday 12 March, 2024.
The fine is levied because the Ministry of Mines had failed to submit adequate documents to the Audit General for proper account.
The committee has also presented to the Committee documents pertaining travels rates and other expenditure in the ministry.
The Auditor General’s report has observed that the ministry had 32 staff who were mine wardens and mines monitoring officers.
The report said their responsibilities clashed with that of the Compliance Officers of the National Minerals Agency.
The report further said that despite the fact that they had received total salaries of SLE 310,059 during the period under review, there was no evidence to suggest that they carried out the jobs they were tasked to do.
The audit findings say staff who were attached at different locations in the provinces were still at the headquarters without justification, and no disciplinary action was taken against them.
The report says from the examination of sampled payment vouchers and the audit observed that the Ministry used non-technical staff (such as ICT Officers, Accounts Assistants, Procurement Officers, and staff from the Admin, Department) to monitor illicit mining in the provinces.
The report went further that on amount of SLE92,000 was spent on DSAs and other costs on this activity for the period under review.
According to the report Mines Monitoring Officers lacked the required tools such as a vehicle, communication gadgets, and mines detectors to make their work effective, efficient, and safe.