By- Aruna Rashed Toma Bangura

The 2021 Auditor General’s report has disclosed that the total outstanding public debts of the Government as at the end of 31st December 2021 is Le 31,631 billion which means 66% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The report stated that the public debt comprised of domestic debt of Le 8,811 billion and an external debts of Le 22,820 billion.

The report highlighted that the total domestic debt of Le 8,811 billion at the end of the financial year 2021 consist of short-term securities with less than one-year maturity is in the form of treasury bills totaling Le 7,196 billion and Ways and Means Advances totaling Le 17 billion and long-term securities of Le 1,597 billion as treasury bonds.

The 2021 Auditor General’s report noted that Public Debt is a major government liability and a key sustainability issue for the government as it requires comprehensive, accurate and timely records for good management. The report stated that audit procedures to confirm the completeness and accuracy of debts recorded at the public accounts involved requesting confirmations from external creditors and obtaining schedules detailing the movement of individual debts during the year.

The Report indicated that an External debt of Le 20.99 trillion was reported in the General-Purpose Financial Statements the total amount of Le 19.09 trillion which accounts for 91% of External Debt was confirmed by a third party confirmation. The report finds out that external creditors did not confirm the Le 1.9 trillion which represents 9% of the total External Debt, adding that the unconfirmed balance debts are accumulated debts dating as far back between 1983 and 2017.