The deputy auditor general of Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL), Morie Lansana, said the loan and advance schedule as of 31st December 2022 at the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, (SLCB), did not agree with trial balance.
The deputy auditor general made the statement before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the New Administrative Building in the House of Parliament.
Mr. Lansana said the schedule presented by the bank was approximately six hundred and thirty-four million, seven hundred and fifty-six leones (Le634,000,756) while the trial balance submitted was at around five hundred twenty-four million leones (Le524,000,0000).
According to him, there was a difference of about one hundred and sixty-three million, six hundred leones (Le163,000,600).
Normally, Mr. Lansana said when the audit team requested for a schedule, it is obtained directly from the system.
The report revealed that there was no classification of loans and that the loans were not done according to the financial guidelines.
Hon. Tawa asserted that issue still remains unresolved.
The deputy Speaker said it is a total violation and breach of the Financial Regulation Guidelines in terms of classification.
A representative from SLCB admitted that the accounts were not classified as the guidelines or per guidelines saying that there were accounts in substandard categories, which should have been in doubtful category.
In addition, he said they also have an account in current category which should have been classified as substandard category stressing that that was the issue they were having at the above-mentioned bank.
The chairman of the PAC, who doubles as the deputy Speaker of the House, said the committee has the mandate to look into the account of public enterprises and other Ministries Department Agencies (MDAs), to ascertain those that are performing, those who are not and those that have been classified as the case may be.
He cited regulation 253 and the purpose of Section 108 of the Financial Regulations which say nobody will take loans without the committee’s approval, clarifying that subvented agencies that have been brought into State Budget under section 252 of the Public Financial Regulation Act in Sierra Leone, shall not take loan for any purpose.
Hon. Ibrahim Conteh said the issue remains unresolved and promised to go to the bank for clarification.