A Technical Audit report recently commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and tabled at the parliament of Sierra Leone has declared one of Sierra Leone prestigious hotel, the Golden Tulip as unsafe for both guests and workers using the facility.
Auditors made of reputable engineers have noted that the ceiling of the hotel located in the seren environment in the west of the capital Freetown has collapsed and other parts of the hotel were in a deplorable state.
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) has reportedly invested a whooping sum of Le 49.2 billion to renovate the hotel.
The technical audit report has discovered that the state of the hotel in January 2009 was similar to the findings of the observations made in the Structural Assessment Report prepared by Techsult & Company Ltd. in 2006.
The Audit Report has recommend NASSIT to immediately commission a structural integrity assessment on the entire building with a view to determine whether the building is fit for purpose, before further expenditure is done on maintenance.
The Trust was also requested by the report to engage a qualified structural engineer to prescribe and supervise appropriate remedial measures to be implemented to sustain the hotel.
NASSIT has according to the audit report cumulatively invested Le1,181,978,803,738.17 since its establishment on the 16th August,2002.The Trust has according to the auditors been using various investment instruments including: call Deposits, Fixed Deposits, Private Placements, Land Properties amongst others.
The Technical Audit report has discovered that the total cumulative return on investments from 16th August 2002 to 31st December 2018 amounts to Le 183,167,449,678.29 representing an annual average return on investment of less than 1%.
At Sewa Grounds it was also noted by the auditors that there were outstanding works amounting to US$1,970.207.97 on the market stalls and upscale lockup shops project, even though NASST had approved payment of US$ 15,616,224.57 (i.e. 98% of the contact value for this component.
The layout of the buildings on site does not follow the layout of the plans and drawings provided.
The Trust was asked by the auditors to reject any payment for works done which do not meet specifications.
‘’They should also ensure that defects in the facility are rectified immediately and ensure a fast completion of the project, hand it over to be used for its intended purpose in order to avoid more costs and reduce the payback period of the project,’’ the report concludes.
The recent findings by the Technical Audit on the country main hotel is a blow to the country’s thriving tourism sector as Sierra Leone has very little and standard facilities for tourist to use while in the country.The move by NASSIT in recent time to invest in the hospitality industry was seen as a boost to the sector but the fact that such buildings have been described to be structurally defective is a sad news to the torusim sector.