By Josephine W. Lagawo
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Chairman of the Public Account Committee who double as Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh has informed the Managing Director and officials of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank to provide the documents for 37 staff who received loans and corporate loans to the committee.
He said that if they failed, he would order the Bank of Sierra Leone to debit their account.
It could be recalled that the 2022 Auditor General Report stated that the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank gave out 15 corporate loans but the auditors observed that the valuation report for the said loan was not seen while the other valuation reports were outdated.
Auditors also observed that financial statement, board resolutions and the legal mortgage agreement were not seen.
According to the Assistant Auditor’s General, Morie Lansana, during the time of audit, the auditors picked out 37 staff of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank who received loans but that staff loan application forms were not seen, credit committee assessment report was missing, legal mortgage agreement not seen and in some instances, not registered and stamped, insurance cover not seen or the insurance policy did not cover the name of the bank.
Hon Tawa Conteh said that the bank did not justify the performance of loan and loan balance, pointing out that they need to give the committee sample.
The Public Account Committee adjourned the seating to Monday June 17th 2024 for the bank to produce all the documents to the committee.
