By Esther Wright
In a Press Release dated 20th December 2021, the Acting Auditor-General of Audit Service Sierra Leone stated that he wishes to inform the public that the institution has submitted three performance audit reports to Parliament. These are Performance Audit Report on the Welfare of Inmates by the Sierra Leone Correctional Service, Performance Audit Report on the Management of Examinations by the University of Sierra Leone; and Performance Audit Report on the Effectiveness of the Monitoring, Surveillance and Control System of Fishing Activities by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
It was stated that Section 11(2) (c) of the Audit Service Act of 2014 confers on the Audit Service the authority to conduct value-for-money and other audits in a bid to ensure that efficiency and effectiveness are achieved in the use of public funds.
It continued that Section 16(1) (d) of the Public Financial Management Act of 2016 states that the Auditor-General, in accordance with the Constitution of Sierra Leone and the Audit Service Act of 2014 may at any time review or examine any aspect of the operations of the entities referred to in paragraph (a) of the Public Financial Management Act of 2016.
Audit Service-Sierra Leone furthered that in addition to the financial and regularity audits undertaken by the institution, Performance Audit is one of the tools employed by the ASSL to measure the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which State institutions expend public resources in the discharge of their various mandates.
Additionally, stated was that in consonance with the Auditor-General’s mandate, and as a guardian of Sierra Leone’s economic security, the ASSL undertook the performance audits separately in compliance with best practice of the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI) and the Performance Audit Guidelines.
According to the Acting Auditor General the reports will be uploaded on the Audit Service Sierra Leone website www.auditsrvice.gov.sl after they have been laid in Parliament.
