By Josephine W. Lagawo
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Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has directed the Principal Accountant of the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning, and the Environment, Moininia Kopoi, to pay $5,000 to the consolidated fund through the Accountant General. This order follows the Ministry’s failure to produce necessary documents during the 2022 audit.
Hon. Conteh issued this directive on Monday, 1ST July 2024, during the Ministry’s appearance before the committee at the Administrative Building’s conference room at Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown. He explained that the penalty was imposed because the Principal Accountant failed to provide essential documents to the auditors, necessitating a refund of the missing money to the consolidated fund.
The Chairman instructed Mr. Kopoi to submit his PIN code to the committee clerk and to write a letter to the Accountant General confirming the account debit, with a copy of the letter sent to the committee. The 2022 Auditor General’s report highlighted that approximately 400 files of state lands had not been submitted for auditing. Permanent Secretary Abdul Fofanah stated that they had brought the documents to the committee.
Hon. Conteh expressed skepticism about the absence of the files, noting that the room should be filled with them. He criticized the Ministry for selling the rights of way and pointed out that the Director of Surveys holds two titles. He suggested recommending to the President the removal of all staff from the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture to bring in new, non-corrupt personnel.
When asked if there were other competent individuals to fill the Director of Surveys position, Tamba Dauda responded that all the current staff are new and he has been in the role for a long time. Mr. Dauda has served in this position for five years. Consequently, the committee decided to stand down the Ministry and will call them back for the 2021 audit report.
