FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE – 4 May 2026 – The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) and Non-State Actors working on Public Financial Management in Sierra Leone have strongly condemned the failure of 44 public entities to submit their FY2025 financial statements as required by law.
The CSOs described the non-compliance as a “blatant disregard” for Section 86(1) of the Public Financial Management Act 2016, which mandates vote controllers to submit annual financial statements to the Auditor-General within three months after the close of the financial year.
“Compliance with this law is not optional. Rather, it is a legal and moral obligation,” the statement read.
The defaulting entities include the National Telecommunications Authority, Sierra Leone Roads Authority, National Minerals Agency, Central Intelligence and Security Agency, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Procurement Authority, Guma Valley Water Company, and Ernest Bai Koroma University, among others.
The CSOs warned that the scale of non-compliance across key institutions responsible for health, infrastructure, and regulatory oversight is “unacceptable and deeply troubling,” adding that the failure cripples the national audit process, undermines parliamentary oversight, and creates dangerous blind spots in the management of public funds.
Call for Sanctions
BAN and its partners called on the Ministry of Finance and Parliament to take immediate action and enforce sanctions against defaulting entities.
They also urged the Audit Service Sierra Leone to invoke Section 3g(i) of the Audit Service Amendment Act 2023, which recommends that “the emoluments and allowance of a person who fails or refuses to submit the annual financial statement for the previous year should be withheld.”
“Continued inaction will only erode public confidence and weaken service delivery,” the CSOs warned. “Sierra Leone cannot afford a system where public institutions operate above the law.”