By Kelfala Kargbo
Freetown, 19th February 2026- Parliament yesterday received two key reports from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the Auditor-General’s findings for the 2023 financial year, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges in government accountability.
Deputy Chairman of the PAC, Hon. Paramount Chief Desmond Kargobai II, presented the reports which cover the Auditor-General’s review of Local Councils and the Accounts of Sierra Leone for 2023. He explained that under Section 119 of the 1991 Constitution, the committee is mandated to exercise oversight on public expenditure, and the reports capture critical findings, observations, and recommendations across government institutions.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Tawa Conteh, who also chairs the PAC, disclosed that the committee had successfully recovered over NLe24,000 (24 million old leones) from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). He further revealed that through deductions and settlements, the committee secured payment of outstanding royalties owed to the government amounting to 760,000 US dollars.
Conteh noted that the committee had resolved 60% of issues raised in the Auditor-General’s 2023 report from MDAs, while 42% of issues were fully resolved at the council level. He added that close collaboration with the National Revenue Authority (NRA) had enabled the recovery of 13.5 million US dollars in underpayments and undervalued taxation for 2024.
Despite the significance of the reports, the session was marked by the absence of opposition Members of Parliament from the All People’s Congress (APC). The Well was filled only with Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) MPs, leaving the opposition benches empty.
The Deputy Speaker adjourned the House to February 24, 2026, when further deliberations are expected to continue.
