By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Feb. 24 (232news.com) – “The total outstanding public debts of the Government as at the end of December 2020 was Le27.18 trillion or 62% of GDP, comprising domestic debts Le7 trillion (Le5.32 trillion – end FY2019) and external debts Le20.18 trillion (Le16.16 trillion – end FY2019),” the 2020 Audit Report revealed.
The report explained that debt management servicing in the annual recurrent budget represents a significant value and is considered material in audit terms.
That Public debt liability is a major government liability and critical sustainability issue for the Government of Sierra Leone for which it requires comprehensive, accurate and timely records for good management.
“Our audit procedures to confirm the completeness and accuracy of debts recorded in the public accounts involved requesting confirmations from external creditors, and obtaining schedules detailing the movement of individual debts during the year,” the report stated
Adding that, “we compared the disbursed outstanding debts (DODs) disclosed in the General-Purpose Financial Statement with those in the books of the creditors and reports from the Commonwealth’s Secretariat Debt Recording Management Systems (CSDRMS).”
