EX- AUDITOR-GENERAL REPLIES STATE HOUSE
TAMBA МОМОН FCCA, FCCA (SL) CFE
Response to State House Press Release in Freetown Sierra Leone:
My attention has been drawn to a Press Release by the Office of the Press Secretary at State House in Freetown, bordering on the suspension of Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce, Auditor General, and my good self Tamba Momoh, one of her former Deputies.
I was suspended on 11th November 2021, for quote: “professional performance or the lack thereof” in relation to an audit one of my teams conducted on the Office of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone for the financial year 2020, a portfolio I held from 2009 when I joined the Audit Service Sierra Leone.
To the best of my knowledge and ability, I carried out my duties with professionalism and commitment over these years, and this is evident in the many important reports that I have authored, such as, Sierra Leone’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations audit, Management of Ebola Funds audit, Management of COVID19 Response audit, and Technical audit of the Civil Work, Energy, Telecommunication, Social Security sectors, conducted at the request of the current SLPP-led government in 2018.
When the Tribunal that was set up to investigate the above allegation, held its inaugural hearing on 17th March 2022, my lawyer, Mohamed Pa-Momo Fofanah Esq., raised a preliminary objection that the Tribunal did not have jurisdiction over me, as I was not the Auditor General, and that the appropriate authority empowered to conduct such an investigation by the Audit Service Act 2014, was the Audit Service Board. After my lawyer had raised the said objection, the Attorney General and the Tribunal Panel at the time objected to and overruled my objection. Now we are being told that the matter that relates to me has been referred to the Audit Service Board as recommended.
Even though I had no faith whatsoever in the process from that point on, for the sake of country, professionalism, and posterity, I continued to fully participate and cooperate with the proceedings in absentia but through my lawyers, Messrs. Fofanah and Senesie, until the 16th December 2023, when the sittings ended. It is also to be noted that I had, in the meantime, resigned from the Audit Service Sierra Leone since 30th July 2023.
On 12th June 2024, the Tribunal invited us to a meeting, where we were informed that they had concluded their investigation and produced their Report, which was going to be presented to the President and that a copy will be made available to us thereafter. To date, even after repeated requests, I do not have a copy of the Tribunal’s Report.
I was therefore shocked to read in the said Press Statement that the Tribunal has recommended for my removal from an organization that I no longer work for, without sharing the report outlining any findings and/or conclusions with me or my lawyers.
Therefore, I, Tamba Momoh FCCA, FCCA (SI), CF, hereby publicly and humbly request the Attorney General of the Republic of Sierra Leone, to present and challenge all three professional accountancy bodies listed below, which I have good standing membership, with his purported case of professional misconduct, which I have been apparently found guilty of, and see the said bodies’ reply:
- The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sierra Leone (ICASL) Freetown, Sierra Leone.
3 Riverside Drive
Off Kingham Road
Freetown, Sierra Leone
- The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
The Adelphi
1-11John Adam Street
Adelphi Terrace
London WC2N 6AU, UK
- The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
Global Headquarters
The Gregor Building
716 West Avenue
Austin TX 78701-2727, USA.
I continue to thank and assure all those who have stood by and supported me, especially my legal team, that I have done nothing wrong or unprofessional, and that during my time with the Audit Service Sierra Leone, I gave my best service always
Since I became a professional accountant in August 2003 (almost 20 years ago) in the United Kingdom, I have conducted myself well as a professional, and this is testament to the engagements I have had, and continue to have, with many international organizations and institutions, such as the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI), the African Organization of English Speaking Supreme Audit Intuitions (AFROSAI-E), and the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organizations (IFR4NPO) Project
Finally, let me assure all Sierra Leoneans (at home and abroad), and friends of Sierra Leone, that the TRUE FACTS about this case will not remain in the dark forever.
Tamba Momokh 12 JULY 2024
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Signed Date
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Response to Press Statement on Tribunal by Tamba Momoh former Deputy Auditor General
