By Sahid Bangura

In a groundbreaking revelation, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Affairs, after undergoing a thorough inspection through the Audit Service Report, which provides the public with incite annual reports of organizations and institutions, was implicated of embezzling Millions of Leones.

Following the inspection of the “bus hire services purchased the for the COMCEC COVID-19 pieces of training held in the region,” the ministry was incriminated of boycotting the monetary thresholds by artificially splitting an amount of SLE 198,000 into three smaller parts, and awarded them to the same supplier on the same day, meanwhile, Section 37(2) of the PPA 2016 restricted the ministry from artificially dividing procurement.The Audit Service Report went forward to reveal a total amount of SLE 1,271,575 withdrawn from the Ministry’s account by the management, without adequate supporting documents for audit inspection.

The report reads, “Bank withdrawals of SLE 1,089,425 from the Ministry’s imprest account held at the Bank of Sierra Leone were without adequate supporting documentation…, on the 25 January 2022, a cheque withdrawal of SLE 85,000 was paid as a board member’s sitting fees and playlist support to DJs for the promotion of the Ambassador Office for Entertainment and Investment…, Bank withdrawals by the Tourism Division amounted to SLE 97,150 on 3rd March 2022, through a cheque to conduct a monitoring and evaluation exercise…”

In response to the implication of the money withdrawn, the Ministry claimed that all the supporting documents for the money (SLE 1,089,425, SLE 85,000, and SLE 97,150) were intact and ready for inspection. However, according to the Audit Service, the provided documents were inadequate to account for the total money that was withdrawn.

The documents which were submitted in supports of the SLE 1,089,425, SLE 85,000, and SLE 97,425 withdrawals, according to the report, the documents only accounted for SLE 624,666.56, SLE 45,000, and SLE 45,360, leaving balances of SLE 464,759.03, SLE 40,000, and SLE 52,790, respectively. This proves that the Ministry has not accounted for an amount of SLE 556,549 withdrawal.

The Ministry’s cultural Division who manages the activities of the dancing troupe, has a number of “25 performers as staff,” and “a review of payroll and staff list records revealed that the dancers received total salary valued at SLE 216,081 for the year under review.” However, the Audit Service Report projected that documents for the activity plan that would justify the amount paid as salary, was not provided by the Ministry for a thorough audit inspection.

In an effort to converging the Sierra Leone National Dancing Troupe in a well suited environment, the report revealed that an amount valued SLE1, 657,950 was procured for the furnishing of the new cultural village which was constructed in December 2015, in Mabala Village. However, the Audit Service Report observed that the Dancing Troupe has not occupied the constructed building yet, and that there was neither a documentary evidence of the non-relocation of the Dancing Troupe, nor a documentary evidence for the assets pertaining the new building.