Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) has in a media conference held on Thursday, January 7, 2021, reiterated that its assertions that 47 laptops computers and a 50KVA generator were missing at the time of audit at the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre (NaCOVERC) is true.
The three vehicles who were supposed to be brand new among others procured by the Ministry of Transport for NaCOVERC had recorded a mileage which makes it unreasonable to believe that they (three vehicles) were brand new, according to the Deputy Auditor General responsible for Specified Audit, Tamba Momoh.
He said that the information gathered during audit indicates that NaCOVERC did not specify the model of the computers they had requested for to the Ministry of Finance, but the Ministry in procuring the computers specified to the supplier that they needed 47 fifteen inches touchscreen laptops computers.
“According to our record, 15 (fifteen) inches touchscreen laptops for NaCOVERC Situation Room and another 32 touchscreen laptops for the Response Centre were procured by IHPAU, delivered by House of Electronics and received by NaCOVERC,” Momoh said.
He cited that the 50KVA generator among other items donated by the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone to the Ministry of Health was also missing during audit. He added that after engaging the ministry, the audit team was told that the 50KVA generator was transferred to Zimmi Public Health Unit (PHU) in Pujehun District where it was being used.
Momoh further explained that they visited the said Public Health Unit in Zimmi, but notably realized that the generator that was present was a 65KVA generator which had been there for more than two years contrary to the Ministry’s claim that the missing generator was a 50 KVA machine.
He added that on the 6th of May, ASSL wrote a letter to the interim Coordinator of NaCOVERC informing him that they would be conducting an audit of the centre. He added that on the 9th of May they invited NaCOVERC on a workshop to capacitate them on the process in which many representative in different department of NaCOVERC responded by attending the conference.
“Following their engagement they sent a letter querying the competence of finance staff; on the 18th May they sent another query questioning the lack of Human Resource Staff to monitor the recruitment of staff at NaCOVERC, but they did not respond to both letters,” Momoh said.
By George M.O. Williams
8/01/2021. ISSUE NO:7975