The recently released Auditor General’s report for the Financial Year 2021 has left the general citizenry astounded as to why the offices of the President, Vice President and the First Lady were left unaccounted for expending public money(s).
According to section 119(2) of the 1991 Constitution, the Auditor General is charged with the sole mandate to audit the public account of Sierra Leone and all public offices including the court, Central and Local government administrations, the Universities and public institutions together with statutory corporations, companies, bodies or organizations set up partly or wholly out of public fund.
The Auditor General is mandated to carry out audits on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the audited government entities use their resources in carrying out their responsibilities and the Auditor General is the independent auditor reporting to Parliament.
This unprecedented report has created room for public doubt and criticism if whether the President, Vice President and First Lady are immune from being accountable to the public about how they expend the people’s wealth in their respective public offices.
The report has been described by many as a damning and partial report as it failed to probe into the financial activities of the offices of the First and Second gentlemen of the State.
In a truly practiced democratic dispensation, the offices of the President, Vice President and First Lady are answerable to the public to explain how their respective offices spent tax-payers’ money for the prerequisite purpose.
There are no sacred cows in auditing, in the sense that irrespective of one’s position in the society so long as that individual is entrusted with a public office that person is answerable to give account of how he/she expended state fund for the general good of the nation. Audit Service Sierra Leone is charged with the sole mandate towards unearthing misappropriation and embezzlement of state wealth by selfish politicians and individuals who are busily enriching their lives at the detriment of the suffering masses.
It is conventional as enshrined in the country’s 1991 Constitution that there should be an annual financial audit report for the Office of the President and Vice President to give a detail account and produce receipts of payment to auditors so that the citizenry will be informed about how government is spending their money. It was a tradition that during the eleven years of former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma the audited report left no stone unturned as offices of the President, Vice President and First Lady were audited annually and there was no threat or fear of the Auditor General losing his/her job for exposing the government during his two term of office.
The offices of the President and Vice President are not exempted from auditing by Audit Service Sierra Leone which is an independent audit body because the administration of these offices are carried out by tax-payers money.
No wonder, it could be recalled that a bill was tabled in Parliament titled “THE UNACCOUNTABLE IMPEREST” wherein the President, Vice President and the Speaker are not answerable to any independent body or person about how they expend the peoples’ money but, this bill received a thumbs down by opposition members of Parliament as well as the general citizenry. Some critical thinkers have concluded that the President suspended the Auditor General at the eleventh hour of releasing a damning audit report of financial anomalies on the current government whom they said was not in favor and support of their regime. But it has been the norm for all Auditor Generals to do their job professionally without prejudice, fear and favor of any political party.
However, the Acting Auditor General, Abdul Aziz is now been frowned at by the highly gullible public who are of the convincing and stern view that he was appointed by President Dr. Julius Maada Bio so that he could save the President’s neck from corruption by exposing his office through the annual audit report.
Another side of the public believes that those offices promptly comply with the standard operating procedures of the Audit Service Sierra Leone by producing receipts of payment for all their activities and therefore the ASSL deemed it unnecessary to entail findings from those offices.
But as a responsible, accountable and transparent government the public must be informed about how much money from the state coffers were judiciously expended by State House, Vice President, Speaker and First Lady annually before the inception of a new financial year.