By Vos Writer
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has raised concerns over financial and administrative lapses at the National Minerals Agency (NMA) following revelations in the 2023 Auditor-General’s Report.
According to the audit findings, a total sum of NLe 1,753,218.60, allocated as Mining Development Fund for various beneficiary communities, was not disbursed during the 2023 financial year. The failure to release the funds reportedly caused delays and disruptions in the implementation of planned community development projects.
The Committee observed that no disbursement was made in the 2023 financial year due to the NMA’s failure to submit reports and retirement details for funds disbursed in the 2021 and 2022 financial years.
It was further noted that the Bank of Sierra Leone cleared the funds in December 2023.
PAC ordered that Management must submit all outstanding reports and retirement details for disbursements made in 2021 and 2022 to the audit team before the conclusion of the 2024 audit exercise. The Committee warned that failure to comply would result in severe penalties in the event of a recurrence of the audit query.
In a separate finding, the audit report disclosed that payments totaling NLe 358,656 were made for a dedicated server hosted overseas on behalf of the Agency. However, the Service Level Agreement (SLA) or formal contract between the NMA and the service provider was not initially made available for audit inspection.
The absence of a documented contract raised concerns about accountability and legal protection, particularly in the event of a dispute with the service provider.
During PAC’s hearing, the Finance Director presented the contract agreement to the Committee, explaining that work on formalizing the agreement had commenced at the time the audit exercise began.
Following the submission and review of the contract documentation, the Committee declared the matter resolved and recommended that the audit query be deleted.
The PAC’s review of the NMA forms part of Parliament’s broader oversight function aimed at promoting transparency, accountability, and prudent financial management across public institutions.
