Health Alert CSO Urges Chief Minister to Answer for Financial Lapses Flagged in Auditor General’s Report
The Health Alert Civil Society Organization has called on the Chief Minister to take responsibility for what it described as poor financial management and weak accountability across several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), following adverse findings in the latest Auditor General’s Report.
In a hard-hitting statement, the civil society group recalled that one of the core mandates of the Chief Minister clearly outlined in the office’s job description is to ensure effective performance management across government. This includes overseeing ministries, enforcing accountability through measurable indicators, and promoting data-driven governance.
Health Alert noted that these responsibilities are operationalized through performance contracts signed between the Chief Minister and heads of ministries, including ministers. According to the organization, such contracts are meant to ensure prudent use of public funds and proper accounting for assets procured with taxpayers’ money.
“It is therefore expected that before any new contract is signed with ministries, there must be full accountability for financial resources and assets already entrusted to them,” the statement said. “Failure to enforce this standard has culminated in massive losses, mismanagement, and poor record-keeping, as documented by the auditors.”
The group argued that the lapses identified in the Auditor General’s Report point to systemic weaknesses in oversight and enforcement, which fall squarely within the Chief Minister’s coordinating role.
Against this backdrop, Health Alert is urging the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of Sierra Leone and the Anti-Corruption Commission to immediately mount a thorough investigation into all MDAs cited for mismanagement or failure to properly record and account for public funds.
“The Public Accounts Committee and the Anti-Corruption Commission must ensure that those responsible are held accountable in accordance with the law,” the organization said, adding that failure to act decisively would further erode public trust in government financial management.
The Auditor General’s Report, which scrutinizes the use of public resources across MDAs, has repeatedly raised concerns over unsupported expenditures, weak internal controls, and unaccounted-for assets issues civil society groups say require urgent corrective action at the highest levels of government.
