To improve accountability and management of government assets, the Directorate of Store, Inventory and Management Controls in the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the National Asset and Government Property Commission, has recently conducted a training on Assets and Inventory Policy, Regulatory and Operational Manuel at Pope John Paul II Pastoral Center Skye Street in Freetown.

Making a statement at the opening ceremony of the training attended by the Stores and Records Officer, Accountants, Procurement Officers and other government officials, the Director of Stores and Inventory Controls directorate at the Ministry of Finance, Joseph Lamin Ngegba, said when the initiative was brought up in 2019, the first thing they did was country-wide data assessment to be well informed on where to start and also know what exactly the problems are and how to handle such.

He continued that after the assessment, they noticed that the only regulation they had was the 1964 stores regulations, with no proper tools in the MDAs for auditors to cross-check and a lack of professional store officers to manage the assets and properties of the government.

He added that volunteers were managing stores in the MDAs, and stores were considered idle places to manage, forgetting that 75% of government resources were spent on procurement.

Director Ngegba noted that after the Directorate was established, they developed the Regulation and piloted it in four MDAs. He further stated that the Cabinet had approved two policy documents with a caveat that the Directorate should hold a stakeholder’s consultative meeting before a bill is developed for approval.

Director Ngegba ended by thanking the leadership of the Ministry, National Asset and Property Commission, and European Union for the collaborative effort put together to achieve these milestones.

The Programme Manager of Budget Support, Public Financial Management Philippe Mauran, said inventories and Management Controls were seen as a gap in the government sector.

He commended the Finance Ministry and the Commission for introducing this initiative to address these gaps by developing action plans and reviewing policies for smooth implementation.

He also applauded the Cabinet for endorsing the idea and encouraged all government officers to play their effective roles, as this document will serve as a game changer for the proper handling and accounting of government properties.

Mr Charles, the Consultant, stressed the importance of the policy, which seeks to address the irregularities and accountability of government properties.

He further said that what’s key to this document is the sustainability of using the regulations.

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