1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages I. Background............................................................. 4 II. Introduction........................................................... 5 III. Mandate of the Committee...................................... 5 IV. Methodology............................................................. 6 V. Acknowledgement..................................................... 6 VI. Committee Members.................................................. 6 VII. Technical Staff........................................................... 7 VIII. General Observations and Recommendations......... 7 IX. Conclusion................................................................. 9 1. Bo City Council................................................... 11 2. Bo District Council.............................................. 19 3. Bonthe Municipal Council............................................ 27 4. Bonthe District Council................................. 36 5. Moyamba District Council.................................................. 50 6. Pujehun District Council............................................. 61 7. Kailahun District Council.............................................. 69 8. Kenema City Council....................................................... 78 9. Kenema District Council................................................ 94 10. Koidu New Segbehun Council............................................ 109 11. Kono District Council........................................ 117 12. Bombali City Council......................................................... 123 13. Makeni City Council.................................................... 129 14. Port Loko District Council......................................... 135 15. Tonkolili District Council.............................................. 137 16. Kambia District Council.......................................... 143 17. Koinadugu District Council......................................... 152 18. Western Area Rural District Council....................... 155 19. Freetown City Council ............................................ 162 2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ASA Audit Service Act 1998 PAC Public Accounts Committee CA Chief Administrator DCA Deputy Chief Administrator FO Finance Officer Acct. Accountant PO Procurement Officer IA Internal Auditor M&E Monitoring and Evaluation GBAA Government Budgeting and Accountability Act 2005 GoSL Government of Sierra Leone FMR Financial Management Regulations 2007 ISSAI International Standards for Supreme Audit Institutions ITA Income Tax Act 2000 LGA Local Government Act 2004 MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development NGOs Non Governmental Organizations PETS Public Expenditure Tracking Survey PPA Public Procurement Act 2004 PPR Public Procurement Regulations 2006 PVs Payment Vouchers 3 RFQs Request for Quotations ASA Audit Service Act 1998 GBAA Government Budgeting and Accountability Act 2005 GoSL Government of Sierra Leone NRA National Revenue Authority UNDP United Nation Development Program 4 I. BACKROUND Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sierra Leone Parliament has the mandate to examine the annual accounts of Sierra Leone showing the appropriation of funds granted by the House to meet public expenditure together with the reports and special reports of the Auditor General. In exercising its mandate as per S.O.70 (6) in consonance with the provisions of Section 93 (6) and Section 95 of the Constitution [Act No. 6 of 1991], the Committee summoned public officers to provide both oral and written evidences in order to form the basis of the PAC Report. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Local Government Act 2004 is the legal framework for the effective running and administration of local councils. Through statutory instruments introduced in 2006, city status was granted to the former towns of Bo, Kenema, Koidu-New Senbehun and Makeni, and municipal status to Bonthe Town Council. This Act is currently under revision to reflect the 2010 national decentralisation policy, which makes provision for the re-establishment of local councils as they existed before 1972 when they were suspended (five town councils, 12 district councils and Freetown City Council). It also creates the new Western Area Rural District Council by merging the four former Rural Districts of Koya, Waterloo, Mountain and York. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Local Government (Assumption of Functions) Regulations 2004 guides the process of devolution. This legislation specifies 80 functions to be devolved from central to local government, the devolving central Ministry, Department or Agency, and when the local councils should assume each function. About half of these functions were devolved within the timeframe set (2005- 2008) in the regulations. Transfers from central government include recurrent and development components. There are three broad types of transfers: administrative grants, grants for devolved functions and local government development grants. Under the Local Government Act 2004, 80 functions were devolved to local councils. By the end of 2010 46 of the 80 had been devolved, with the intention that the remaining functions will be devolved by the end of 2012. Those currently devolved functions include but are not limited to, primary and secondary health, primary and junior-secondary education, environmental health, agriculture extension services, rural water supply, solid waste management and community development. 5 II. INTRODUCTION Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee on Public Accounts has a statutory mandate to examine all reports of the Auditor-General that are presented to Parliament, and present the results of its deliberations and recommendations to the House. In reviewing audit reports, the Committee considers: . the significance of the programmes or issues raised in audit reports; . the significance of the audit findings; . arguments advanced by audited institutions; and . the public interest in the report. The Auditor General after the review of the accounts of all Local Government Councils compiles a report. This report forms the basis of deliberation by the Public Accounts Committee. The PAC conducts hearings on the report and presents a report to Parliament clearly highlighting the action to be taken on those who misappropriate public funds and resources. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the following report is the outcome of the public hearings conducted by the Committee with Vote Controllers and their Accounting Officers in all regions. This Report, originating from the Report of the Auditor General on Local Councils for the financial year 2012, is an attempt to present the Committee‟s observations and recommendations. In doing so, the report focuses on quality service delivery, and proffers recommendations to improve local governance in Sierra Leone. III. MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Public Accounts Committee, pursuant to (70) subsection (6) of the Standing Orders of the Sierra Leone Parliament, is mandated to examine any account or reports of Statutory Corporations and Boards after they have been laid on the Table of the House, and to report thereon from time to time to the House and to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of Parliament. The Public Accounts Committee also monitors expenditure of all public funds whether transferred from the central government or locally generated by the Local Government Councils. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee assesses and evaluates levels of compliance with the established laws of Sierra Leone, including the performance, 6 adherence to and compliance with set performance standards and regulations governing public expenditure. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee‟s mandate is guided by the Local Government Act 2004, The Financial Management Regulations, the Audit Service Act, the Government Budgeting and Accountability Act, the Public Procurement Act and all other related legislation and regulations which impart on public financial management and fiscal discipline. IV. METHODOLOGY Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee received and examined the Auditor General‟s reports on the Accounts of Sierra Leone for the year 2012 on Local Councils, submitted under Section 119(4) of the 1991 Constitution as laid before Parliament on the 18th December, 2013. Technical officers from the Auditor General‟s Office and Anti- Corruption Commission assisted in the hearings/ deliberations of the Committee that formed the contents of this report. In examining the accounts the Committee interfaced with Accounting Officers and their technical teams to respond to the queries raised in the audit reports and the recommendations of the Auditor General thereon. Where the Committee found discrepancies between the information provided by an Accounting Officer/Controller and the Auditor General, the Committee undertook inspection tours (physical verification) of the projects in question in order to obtain first-hand information on their performance status and establish whether government got value for money. V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I wish to firstly thank each Committee Member for the non-partisan spirit and focus on better public administration for Sierra Leone as was demonstrated in the course of the sittings. I would also like to acknowledge the cooperation of those Accounting Officers who took their time to make submissions and appear before the Committee.