Audit Exposes Weaknesses in Sierra Leone’s Public Finances

Sierra Leone’s 2024 Auditor-General’s Report has laid bare persistent weaknesses in public financial management, revealing how governance failures, weak controls, and poor compliance with the law continue to drain scarce state resources and undermine service delivery. Although the Audit Service Sierra Leone issued an unqualified opinion on the Consolidated Fund, the findings show that serious systemic problems remain unresolved across ministries, local councils, public enterprises, and donor-funded projects.

The report shows that total irregularities with financial impact amounted to more than NLe159 billion across government institutions. Major lapses were recorded in expenditure management, contract execution, payroll administration, revenue collection, and the payment of statutory deductions. In several cases, public funds were withdrawn without supporting documents, imprests were not retired, and payments were made for goods and services that were never delivered.

Revenue management emerged as one of the most troubling areas. Auditors found that revenues collected through transit banks could not be traced to the Consolidated Fund, while duty waivers and tax exemptions running into hundreds of millions of Leones were granted without proper documentation. Weak enforcement of the Tax and Duty Exemption Act allowed ineligible individuals and institutions to benefit from concessions, depriving the state of much-needed income.

Public debt also continues to place heavy pressure on the national budget. Although domestic revenue increased significantly in 2024, debt servicing costs rose even faster, pushing the debt service-to-revenue ratio to 31 percent. This means nearly one-third of domestic revenue was used to pay debts, sharply reducing funds available for health, education, and infrastructure. The report warns that without prudent borrowing and stronger revenue mobilisation, fiscal sustainability remains at risk.

At the level of ministries and departments, auditors identified irregularities exceeding NLe44 billion, driven largely by weak payroll controls, poor contract management, and failures to deduct and remit taxes. Local councils were not spared, with nearly NLe8 million in irregularities linked to unsupported payments, poor asset management, and weak revenue systems. Delays in the release of funds from central government further disrupted local development projects, forcing councils into rushed spending that increased the risk of waste.

Donor-funded projects and state-owned enterprises also recorded significant lapses, particularly in the non-payment of statutory taxes and weak governance structures. Many public enterprises remain heavily dependent on government subventions, with limited commercial viability and ineffective boards failing to provide oversight.

Beyond financial losses, the report highlights how these weaknesses translate into poor service delivery. Performance audits revealed stalled youth empowerment projects, inadequate support for children with special needs, weak disaster preparedness, ineffective agricultural programmes, and fragile environmental protection systems. In many cases, poor planning, limited monitoring, and weak coordination meant that public spending failed to deliver meaningful benefits to citizens.

While the Auditor-General acknowledged improvements such as better use of financial management systems and more timely submission of accounts, the overall message is clear: reforms are moving too slowly. The report calls for stronger enforcement of financial laws, sanctions against officials responsible for violations, and faster implementation of audit recommendations if public confidence is to be restored.

The 2024 audit ultimately paints a picture of a state struggling to convert public resources into tangible development outcomes. Without decisive action to close governance gaps and strengthen accountability, the same failures flagged year after year risk becoming permanent features of Sierra Leone’s public finance system.