Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698079115262.pdf (Sierra Leone)
1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO.
Title Page Table of Contents Introduction Scope of the Exercise Procedure General Observations and Recommendations Specific Findings and Recommendations Ministry of Transport and Aviation Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority [SLCAA] Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority [SLRSA] Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Teaching Service Commission [TSC] Office of the Ombudsman National Commission for Democracy National Commission for Human Rights National Telecommunications Commission [NATCOM] Mass Media Services [SLBC] Independent Media Commission [IMC] Right to Access Information Commission Ministry of Information and Communications Ministry of Technical and Higher Education Tertiary Education Commission [TEC] S/L Council for Postgraduate College of Health Specialists Civil Service Training College Ministry of Energy Electricity Generation and Transmission Company S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission The Local Courts Judiciary of Sierra Leone The Justice and Legal Service Commission Office of the Solicitor General Administrator and Registrar General Legal Aid Board Justice Sector Coordination Office Law Reform Commission Sierra Leone Law School Ministry of Trade & Industry Sierra Leone Standards Bureau Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency Local Content Agency Department Of Cooperatives Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company Conclusion 1.
INTRODUCTION 32 33 33 34 35 36 36 37 38 39 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the 2021 budget of with the theme “Economic Recovery for Job Creation and Human Capital Development” undoubtedly a continuation of the 2020 finance statement in which hosts of catalogued commitments were partly achieved and the others to rolled over to 2021.
Though the Country registered remarkable macroeconomic and budgetary performance in the later part of the 2020 financial year but the outbreak of the COVID -19 in the early part of the year under review had a deep toll on the growth and recovery trajectory.

Whilst acknowledging that the 2021 budgetary allocations to various sectors have shown substantial increment, the Parliament noticed a dismal performance of MDAs as most programmes were uncompleted partly due to the pandemic and or funding gaps.
As this 2020 Appropriation deviates from the usual norms i.e.

groups of MDAs assigned to named groups of Members of Parliament, this year we adopted the Select Committee Approach that now gives authority to each Select Committee to carefully follow up on the activities of their MDAs through oversights.

However, it is undoubtedly necessary to state here that this change brought huge implications on the analysis and compilation of the final report.
I acknowledge the good work of all MPs and Staff who painstakingly put efforts together to produce this first report on the Parliamentary Committees consolidated findings.

2.

SCOPE OF THE EXERCISE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, this Report covers 36 MDAs as listed in the 2021 Appropriation Act.

The hearings on the 2021 Budget lasted for five days and covered the following MDAs: Table 1: MDAs Account Heads and their Allocations for 2021 3 Vote Div.
Vote Description Amount [Le] for Postgraduate College of Health 27,960,903,000 66,255,725,600 30,284,921,700 2,656,446,000 2,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,500,000,000 132,577,697,000 3,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 3,588,935,300 40,400,398,400 1,974,730,700 3,837,496,900 Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority [SLCAA] Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority [SLRSA] Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Teaching Service Commission [TSC] Office of the Ombudsman National Commission for Democracy National Commission for Human Rights National Telecommunications Commission [NATCOM] Mass Media Services [SLBC] Independent Media Commission [IMC] Right to Access Information Commission Ministry of Information and Communications Ministry of Technical and Higher Education Tertiary Education Commission [TEC] S/L Council Specialists 683,256,400 Civil Service Training College 187,003,337,700 Ministry of Energy 954,379,100 S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission 493,957,300 The Local Courts 14,000,000,000 Judiciary of Sierra Leone 466,192,900 The Justice and Legal Service Commission 8,000,000,000 Office of the Solicitor General 4,045,069,000 Administrator and Registrar General 5,000,000,000 Legal Aid Board 633,560,800 Justice Sector Coordination Office 809,892,600 Law Reform Commission 815,784,300 Sierra Leone Law School 3,250,541,500 Ministry of Trade & Industry Sierra Leone Standards Bureau 4,000,000,000 Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency 5,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 Local Content Agency 1,019,100,600 Department Of Cooperatives 1,467,908,500 Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company Source: Secretariat 3.
PROCEDURE 4 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, before the exercise commenced, summon letters and open-ended questionnaires were sent out to all Vote Controllers, requesting their presence, both past and present core staff.

In line with S.O.

66[1], Vote Controllers, Accountants and other senior officials were requested to respond to questions relating to their budgetary allocations, state their challenges and provide explanation on how they have been carrying out their mandate.
This was meant to determine the efficient and prudent use of financial resources.

During the course of the exercise, the Committee observed traditionally established parliamentary procedures; i.e., reading the relevant provisions in the Constitution and the Standing Orders to emphasise the Committee’s legal standing, and putting auditees on oath to ascertain the authenticity and accuracy of their responses, as inscribed in Section 93, Sub-section 6[a] of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
Besides, in line with S.O.

73[20], the hearings were open to the public, but this Committee admonished media houses about premature publications of Committee decisions as contained in S.O.

75[1-3].

4.

SECRETARIAT Sectorial Committee Clerks 5.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, during the hearings, the Appropriation Sub- committee applied its constitutional mandate and other ancillary legislations in exercising its functions and this resulted to the following findings and observations:- For Financial Year 2020, Parliament agreed at a retreat held in Portloko that this year’s Sub-Appropriation Committee of Supply should be done in line with International best practice in sister Parliament in West Africa for example Ghana.
Ministries, Departments and Agencies under purview of Parliamentary Sectorial Committees scrutinized their respective budgets.

The objective is for the Sectorial Committees to be much familiar with the budgets, activities, projects and programmes of these MDAs in order to enhance effective oversight functions of Committees.

Quarterly allocations for MDAs were hardly received on time and when paid, such transfers do not agree with the approved amount by Parliament.
For the Financial Year 2019, most MDAs reported to have received transfers for only three quarters.

The Committee cited this as a contributing factor for poor service delivery by many MDAs and therefore recommends that the Government should ensure adequate, timely and predictable release of funds for effective project implementation 5 The Committee notes with concern that most MDAs failed to provide Supporting Documents on Expenditure breakdown.
Lack of sufficient documentation and breakdown increases the risk of potential errors and misstatements in the statements provided by the MDAs.

The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation by insisting that all supporting documentations including breakdown of expenditures should always accompany MDAs questionnaire returned to Parliament before budget hearings.

The Committee discovered variances in MDAs “closing” and “opening” cash and bank balances for the FYs 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Quite simply, the opening balance of an account is the amount of money, negative or positive, in the account at the start of the accounting period.

This will be the amount of the closing balance from the previous year brought forward to the current year.

Closing balances of most MDAs have not been correctly brought forward or, where appropriate, restated and this according to the Committee’s view, regarded as failure by them to appropriately apply accounting principles consistently.
The Committee therefore recommends that in future, all MDAs should submit supporting documents, banks statements as well as Bank Reconciliation Statements.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee expressed concerns that own source revenue mobilization is still a very big challenge for most revenue generating MDAs and Local Councils.
In this regard, most MDAs and Local Councils with the exception of the National Revenue Authority reported on not meeting their revenue targets for the period under review.

The Committee recommends that the capacity of revenue generating entities should be strengthened in order to able them effectively mobilise more own source revenues.

Majority of MDAs interviewed made little or no effort to furnish the Committee with their proposed action plans and approved deliverables for the FY 2021.
It is the Committee’s estimation that the provision of such plans would enhance the Oversight Work of Parliament in terms of evaluating the extent to which MDAs are implementing Government policies and programmes.

It became clear that Sectorial / Select Committees hardly use the Appropriation Reports and work plans of MDAs when carrying out oversight functions to monitor the utilization of approved budgets.
The Committee therefore wishes to draw the attention of this Honourable House by way of urging Parliamentary Oversight Committees to monitor the implementation of work plans of MDAs thereby evaluating the progress in the implementation of their proposed activities.
The Committee observed that the Minister of Finance complied with Section 41 [1] of the Finance Act of 2020, which states that ,the State Budget shall be laid before 6 Parliament by the Minister Six (6) weeks to the beginning of the Financial Year to which it relates.

How Parliament is challenged with this time ( ie Six weeks) to approve the State Budget.
To this end the Parliament strongly recommends to reinstate Section 33 (1) of the Public Financial Management Act of 2016, which states that the budget should be presented to Parliament two months to the beginning of the F.Y to which it relates.
The Committee also observed this year’s questionnaire was thoroughly reviewed in line with international best practice on presentation of revenue , expenditure management and proposals, for which Minister, Vote Controllers and Heads of MDAs were summoned to meetings to engage them on the new approach.

However, most Ministers, Vote Controllers and Heads did not attend the meetings.

For this, the Committee recommends for cooperation from the MDAs in such consultations in future.
It was observed that some MDAs did not receive the approved questionnaires on time as provided by Standing Orders S.O 73[8], which provides that MDAs should be notified at least seven days before appearing for hearings.

In this regard, the Committee recommends to the Finance Committee and Sub- Appropriation Committees to go by the provision of this S.O in order to be fair with the MDAs.
The Committee further observed that most MDAs and Local Councils have received allocations for 1st and 2nd quarters of 2019 and were not released on time.

This has negatively affected their budgetary performance and similarly created huge, outstanding public debts and accumulated arrears.

On this note, the Committee recommends to the Ministry of Finance, to narrow the gap between budget allocations and actual disbursements to MDAs, in order to ensure Value for Money Service Delivery.
The Committee also observed that recommendations of previous years’ reports for some MDAs have not been implemented by the Ministry of Finance.

However, the Committee is aware of the challenges facing the Ministry but advised the Ministry to look into these recommendations from which proposals could come for legislation.
It was also observed that some MDAs spent colossal amount of their allocations on rent of offices and other expenditure like office and general, thereby reducing the much needed funds for other purposes.

In line with the with 2020 Budget speech by the Minister, the Committee frowns at this practice and advised such MDAs to strongly complement government’s effort in maximising revenue and rationalise expenditure, by building their office structures.
7 The Committee also observed that own source revenue generated by some Local Councils were spent on administrative expenses rather the capital projects.

This undermines the confidence of tax payers and thereby reduces revenue.

The Committee therefore recommends that these Councils undertake capital projects to boost confidence of tax payers.
SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS VOTE 404 00 MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND AVIATION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee critically examined the 2020 FY budget allocations with the view to ascertain how prudent the Ministry utilized the said allocations.
The Committee observed that for the period under review, the Ministry of Finance allocated Le 56,370,847,000 for 2020 FY .Based on documents presented, the Committee observed that the Ministry undertook expenditure above its actual budget allocations.
When questioned, the Ministry explained that the differences in the allocations and the actual expenditure were as a result of funds received from the International Development Bank (IDA) World Bank to the tune of US $ 50,000,000 to undertake mobilization and professionalization of transport service, building human capital and institutional capacity and emergency recovery under the integrated and resilient Urban Mobility project (IRUMP).
The Committee states here that the Ministry never informed Parliament with regards extra budgetary allocations and neither funding received from donors.

Following critical review of its budgetary submission for 2021 financial year, the Ministry of Finance allocated Le 54,589,200,700 to this Ministry.
After closely examining the Ministry’s proposed activities for 2021, the Committee views the 2021 budget allocation to this Ministry as adequate and recommends its approval VOTE [416 00 SIERRA LEONE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY [SLCAA] The Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority was established by the Civil Aviation Act, 2008 to provide independent professional oversight of international and domestic air transports and cargo services in compliance with international agreements and obligations relating to Civil Aviation.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members for the period under review, the SLCAA was allocated Le 43,238,250,000 target was 57,650,810,100.00 out of which the Authority generated Le 27,257,626,765.00. the SLCAA attributed it to the global This the Committee considers as dismal but grounding of the airlines due to the Corona pandemic.
In the 2021 budgetary for 2020 and revenue the 8 allocations, the SLCAA was allocated Le 27,960,903,000 that reflects 75% of its expected total contributions to the Treasury Single Account Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in light of the above the Committee recommends that the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority strengthens its revenue generation capacity and does considers this 2021 budget adequate.
VOTE 425 00 SIERRA LEONE ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY-SLRSA The Sierra Leone Safety Authority (SLRSA) was set up to regulate and co-ordinate development in the road transport industry, including the registration and licensing of vehicles, the licenses of drivers, the prescription of routes for passenger and goods transportation and for other matters connected thereto.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, for the Financial Year 2020, the SLRSA was allocated with Le41, 243850,000 as its GoSL Regular Budget as per its contribution to the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

Its projected revenue target was Le 80bn but the SLRSA only generated Le41.4Bn which the SLRSA explains that hosts of systemic failures interfered with revenue collections.
However, as part of its plans to increase revenue generation, the Executive Director disclosed that the Authority had instituted slight increase in charges for both registration and renewal of vehicle licenses based on axle load and cubic capacity.

In the light of the forgoing, the Committee considers the 2021 budget of Le 66,255,725 as fairly adequate to fast-track all reform processes the new administration has begun 301 00 MINISTRY OF BASIC AND SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION (MBSSE) Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education is responsible for the planning, monitoring and implementation of the basic and senior secondary educational policies of the country.

It provides advice to the President and the Government on issues related to the smooth functioning of the entire sector.

As a non-revenue generating institution, the Ministry depends on Government and its partners for the implementation of its programmes in the sector.
Giving the wide range of programmes under its purview, the Ministry has three different accounts including the Education Management Information System Account, the School Materials Account and the Imprest Account.
Probing into the Ministry’s opening balances in each of these accounts, the Committee noted the following:  Education Management Information System Account – Le 17,400,729.00  School Materials Account – Le 531,63.96  Imprest Account – Le 2,014,639,133.10 9 For the period under review (FY 2020), the Ministry confirmed the receipt of notice for the release of Le 8,490,000,000.00 as allocation from its Government Regular Budget by the Ministry of Finance.
The said amount does not include domestic capital expenditure implemented on behalf of the Ministry by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development.

Following the said notice, the Ministry as at the end September, 2020, only received and expended Le 4,826,852,348.00 which covered mainly operation including administrative cost.
In addition, the Ministry also expended Le 269,981,869 from its School Materials Account, comprising the following:  Grants from the Chinese Government as logistical support to the Delivery Team of the Ministry – Le 2,808,200,000.00  Support from Rudiger (Chelsea Footballer) for the construction of public libraries – Le 1,000,000,000.00 and  The opening balance of the Financial Year, 2020 – Le 531,635.96 in 2020.
In a similar vein, the Ministry expended the sum of Le 16,443,000.00 from its Education Management Information Systems Account.

Furthermore, the Ministry expended Le 1,002,969,870.00 from its Imprest Account to undertake UNICEF funded activities.
For the same period above (FY 2020), the sum of Le 292,699,850,000.00 was approved on behalf of the Ministry for the implementation of domestic capital expenditure which included but not limited to the following:  Payment of school fees subsidies to senior secondary schools  Payment of 50% fees for the West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE)  Procurement of teaching and learning materials  School feeding programme  E enhancement of capacity for schools monitoring and supervision  Curriculum review and development for schools, etc.
As at the end of September, 2020, the sum of Le 85,409,094,498.00 was expended on behalf of the Ministry by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development.

Accordingly, a variance amounting to Le 207,290,755,502.00 was reported by the Ministry.

Although the management of funds meant for capital development is not under the purview of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the Ministry, however, facilitates requests relating to the disbursement of such funds whenever necessary.
In addition, it was also revealed that the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with some donor partners, is also managing donor funds to the tune of Le 91,250,000,000.

The said amount is meant for the implementation of the following activities:  Focused Resources on Equality and Excellence (FEE) 10  Sierra Leone Secondary Education Improvement Project (Leh Wi Lan)  Education Sector Project.
for the settlement of Government contributions on Accounting its domestic and foreign debts, the Ministry revealed that it has domestic debt liabilities to the tune of Le 20,408,954,877.56 being payment arrears to contractors that supplied diet to Government Boarding Home Schools for the period 2017 – 2019.
With respect foreign debts, the Ministry confirmed debt liabilities to the tune of $ 6,000,000 and $ 12,000,000 being payment for international contributions to UNESCO and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), respectively.

Responding to questions relating to the status of the said debts, the Ministry said that the matter would be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance since it is the body responsible international organisations.
The analysis below illustrated the trend of debts domestic debts incurred.
Le 2017 - 4,017,582,000.00 2018 - 11,762,137,751.00 2019 - 4,629,235,126.56 As part of its key deliverables proposed for the Financial Year, 2021, the Ministry highlighted the following:  Construction of girls’ boarding school and hostels in at least four districts  Construction/rehabilitation of primary and junior secondary schools nationwide  Provision of additional WASH and Ramp facilities to schools to make them disable friendly  Fabrication of 10,000 set of school furniture  Recruitment of key staff in line with the new Management and Functional Review  Establishment of additional functional Non-formal Accelerated Learning Centres  Development of senior secondary education curriculum framework and roll out the Basic Education Curriculum.
For the FY 2020, the Ministry has been provided with a proposed allocation to the tune of Le 30,284,921,700.00 as recurrent budget.

Mindful of the public expectation on the performance of this Ministry, the Committee considers the prosed allocation as inadequate and recommends the provision of a supplementary during the course of the Financial Year.

312 00 TEACHING SERVICE COMMISSION (TSC) Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the above mentioned Commission was established in 2011 through an Act of Parliament but only commenced functioning in 2015.

The Commission has several functions which include but not limited to the following: 11  The registration and licensing of all trained and qualified teachers in the country  Management and development of teachers  Evaluating their performance  Provision of trainings on professional standards, etc.
Giving the above mentioned function on registration and licensing of teachers, the Commission has since the commencement of function made several moves to generate revenue.
But attempts by the Commission to do so have been largely undermined by the factors listed below:  the lack of the conducive atmosphere and infrastructure to enhance the collection of licensing fees from teachers;  Challenge to negotiate charges from teachers as they are also paying dues to the  Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU); the implementation of the Single Treasury Account which restrict institutions to only one account; and  Challenges to have audience with the Financial Secretary for his advice and guidance on the collection and management of funds proposed to be collected as license fees from teachers.
For the period under review, the Commission was given an approved allocation to the tune of Le 2,287,400,000.00.

During scrutiny, the Commission accounted for the sum of Le 3,996,484,095.62 as opening bank balance for the Financial Year, 2020.

With respect disbursement from its approved budget for the Financial Year (2020) under review, the Commission confirmed receipt of Le 2,133,550,432.00 as actual allocation its regular budget.
In addition, the Commission also admitted receipt of donor funding amounting to Le 5,102,876,034.70 and Le 2,250,000.00 from the sale of bidding documents.

Cumulatively, the Commission received Le 11,235,160,562.32.
Responding to questions on the expenditure on donor funding, the Commission disclosed that the donor funds were used on the following activities:  Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Training on Early Grade Reading, Literacy and Numeracy for teachers;  Radio Teaching Programme for pupils; and  In-service Continuous Professional Development.

The other resources, as contained in the records presented to the Committee were expended on the general operations of the Commission.
In total, as at 30th September, 2020, the Commission expended Le 9,531,599,322.00.

As at the same period above, the Commission maintained a bank balance to the tune of Le 1,832,234,245.02 including two un-presented cheques at the tune of Le 128,673,004.70.
As part of its activities for the 2021, the Commission listed the following: 12  Provision of logistical support to the sixteen (16) district offices across the country to enable them undertake routine and effective monitoring of teachers and to address teacher management issues.

 Vetting of teachers’ certificates with the view to eliminating holders of fake certificates, as well as untrained and unqualified teachers from the system.
 Provision of continuous training opportunities for teachers to enhance their assessment and promotion.

To achieve its goals in 2021, the Commission submitted to the Ministry of Finance, a budget request to the tune of Le 6,553,404,472.

After review, it was reduced to Le 2,656, 446, 00.00.

Following critical review of the proposed allocation of the Commission for the 2021 Financial Year, the Committee considers the said allocation as adequate and recommends its approval.
VOTE [110-08] OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Office of the Ombudsman was created by Sub Section 2, of Section 146 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No.
6 of 1991; to investigate any administrative action taken, or omitted to be taken by, or on behalf of any Government Ministry, Department, Agency (MDAs), including statutory corporation, institutions of Higher Learning including the Police Force, the Armed Forces, the Correctional Service, the Fire Force and institutions set up entirely or partly out of public funds.

With the promulgation of the Ombudsman Act No.


2 of 1997, the main function of the Ombudsman is to investigate and take actions that would remedy injustices, occasioned by maladministration in government MDAs.
Probing into the Commission’s expenditure for 2020 Financial Year, the Commission’s original budget submission was Le 2,100,000,000.00 out of which the Committee noted the following:   that the Ministry of Finance only allocated the sum of Le 1,144,600,000.00. that the sum of Le 58,820,408.39 remained as outstanding debt ( withholding tax) to be paid to the National Revenue Authority by the Office of the Ombudsman  The Committee also noted that money amounting to Le 45,705, 050 remains unresolved for expenditure on Security Services.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, for the effective performance of it functions, the committee recommends the immediate release of the remaining 2020 FY Parliamentary approved budget and hence considers the 2021 allocation of Le 2,000,000,000 13 VOTE [137-00 NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the National Commission for Democracy draws its legal mandated from the NPRC Degree No.

15 of 1994 and Act No.

3 of 1996 passed by Parliament.


These instruments and the mandate of the commission address the need to develop public awareness of the constitution, and the rights and responsibilities it bestows on its citizens.

In the Financial Year under review, the Commission submitted to the Ministry of Finance, a budget to the tune of Le 4,675,600,000.00 but received Le 1,098,000,000.00 as allocation to cover its operations.
A supplementary budget amounting to Le 2,600,000,000.00 was also allocated bringing the total allocation received by the Commission to Le 3,654,500,000.00.

Findings  The Committee noted that only Q1, Q2 and Q3 amounting to Le 739,200,000.00 whilst no payment was received for Q4  For 2021 Financial Year, the Ministry of Finance allocated Le 1,000,000,000.00 to the Commission as against its original budget submission to the tune of Le 4,229,600,000.00.
For the Commission to effectively perform it functions the Committee recommends the release of the remaining 2020 FY approved budget and be granted supplementary budgetary provision to complete its numerous activities VOTE [144-00] NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the National Commission for Human Rights was established as a commission of Government by an Act of parliament promulgated in 2004.
The Commission has a statutory mandate for the protection and promotion of human rights in Sierra Leone and to provide for other related matters.

The Committee regrets to report that successive governments have not given the Commission the support its required to enable it function to a level commensurate to the true spirit for which the Institution was established.
The Commission continued to be deprived of the most needed financial and/or logistical support despite the unprecedented increase in the abuse of Human Right nationwide.

In 2020 FY, the Commission’s original budget submission was Le 1,326,500,000.00 for its expenditure.

Through Parliamentary approval, the Ministry of Finance allocated to the Commission the sum of Le 2,119,800,000.00.

However, the Committee noted 14 that the commission received donation amounting to Le 422,899,367.
As at the time of budget hearing the Commission had only received Q1, Q2 and Q3 amounting to Le 1,742,699,367.00.

So far, Le 1,429,306,879.68 has been expended for the year 2020 with outstanding monies amounting to Le 313,392,487.32 seated in their Account.

Also closing account balance as at 30th September 2020 shows excess of Le 610,601,512.52 which was meant for the payment of salaries.

For 2021 FY, the Commission’s original budget submission was Le 5,594,200,688.00 for expenditure.
The Ministry of Finance approved to the Commission the sum of Le 1,500,000,000.00.The Committee viewed the allocation to the Commission as inadequate and that budgeted amounts are far greater than actual allocations for all years under review, With this the Commission will be affected in the implementation of the under mentioned Programmes:  Public Education and awareness raising on COVID 19   Monitoring of Free Quality Education in schools, detention centers nationwide and Investigation of complaints Hospitals.
Giving the huge responsibility reposed on the Commission to handle issues of Human Rights generally, the Committee views the 2021 budgetary allocation to the Agency as grossly inadequate and recommends for a supplementary budget for the Agency during the course of the financial year.
412-00 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NATCOM) Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Telecommunication Commission (NATCOM) was established by an Act of Parliament in 2006 and amended in 2009 and 2015 to License and Regulate ICT Service provider in Sierra Leone.

NATCOM has the mandate to Plan, manage and assign the national frequency spectrum, Manage the national numbering plan, ensure fair competition and investment in the sector amongst others.
The Commission is a revenue generating institution with the authority to retain 67% of its revenue and 33% to be paid in the consolidated fund.

For the FY 2020, the Commission generated an amount of Le 106,940,444,597.80 within the period of January to September 2020 of which Le 71,589,527,806.00 was retained for the operations of the Commission and Le 35,290,346,717.04 was transferred to the consolidated revenue account.
The National Telecommunications Commission however expended the sum of Le 113,773,198,793.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Director General in response to questions asked on the expenditure of monies retained by the Commission for FY 2020, he explained that the Commission, undertook huge capital investment in 2019 and 2020 such as; the 15 construction of NATCOM building, installations of accounting software, development of over five Telecommunication Regulations, enactment of the telecommunication act of 2020 and its popularization nationwide.
In addition, In response to questions and concerns raised by members of the Committee on the monitoring process and payment plan for institutions that owe the Commission, the Director General stated that the Commission signed an MOU with the National Revenue Authority to collect on behalf of the Commission and that and for FY 2021 NATCOM will fully utilize one third of its revenue on the purchase of equipment to effectively monitor service providers.
For the FY 2021 the Commission submitted a projected revenue budget of Le276, 884,048,140 to Ministry of Finance.

The Committee however recommends that:  The Director General submits to the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communication a list of all institutions and individuals that owe NATCOM;  The Commission should ensure that required monitoring equipment is obtained for effective monitoring.
The Committee therefore, considers the allocation for the National Telecommunication as adequate and recommends its approval.

140-00 MASS MEDIA SERVICES-SIERRA LEONE BROAD CASTING CORPORATION (SLBC).
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 2010 as a public service broadcaster to provide public service, independent and impartial broadcasting services through the provision of efficient information, education and entertainment that reflect all shades of opinion throughout Sierra Leone, pursuant to Section 10(1) of the SLBC Act.
The SLBC is a merger between the then Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services (SLBS) and the United Nations Radio (UN Radio).

In 2019 FY, the Ministry of Finance approved the sum of Le 1,300,000,000 in line with it ceiling but allocated the sum of Le 317,800,000 to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation and the Corporation however expended the same amount.
For FY 2020, the cooperation made a submission of Le 3,426,715,000 to the Ministry of Finance; the tune of Le 1,800,000,000 was approved but was actually allocated the sum of Le 710,000,000 and expended the same amount under the recurrent expenditure.

The Corporation in FY2020 generated Le563, 000,000 as own source revenue from obituaries and advertisements which was also expended, the Corporation however made a own source revenue projection of Le 3,221,000,000 for FY 2021.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, For the FY 2021 the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation submitted a budget of Le 11,700,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance.
16 The Vote Controller in response to the questions asked about the areas that would be impacted by a possible increase, the Managing Director of the Corporation stated that it will improve on the general operation of the Corporation and also enable the purchase of broadcasting equipment and cover engineering cost which he said that the Corporation is currently challenged with.

Mr. Chairman, Hon.
Mr. Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Committee observed that the nature of the mandate of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation to cover all government activities for which MDAs are unwilling to pay makes it difficult to do business with the private sector to generate enough revenue for its operations.
The Committee Recommends that:  SLBC should submit list of debtors to the corporation to the Parliamentary Committee on information and Communications to allow the Committee to follow- up on those debtors;  That the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation to engage the Ministry of Information and Communications to amend the SLBC Act to allow the Corporation to better compete with the private broadcasters and generate enough revenue.
The Committee views the allocation to Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation for FY 2021 as adequate and recommends it approval by the Honourable House of Parliament and if possible to be considered for supplementary budget.
110-00 INDEPENDENT MEDIA COMMISSION (IMC) Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Independent Media Commission (IMC) was established by an Act of Parliament in 2000 and later amended in 2006 and 2007 and 2020 with the responsible to control frequencies and operators, monitor the content programmes for guaranteeing the freedom of communication and the respect of pluralistic media throughout the country.
The according to the Act has the Commission has the responsibility to advise the Minister of Information and Communications on media policies and also to ensure that every person, irrespective of that person’s race, colour or sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status have access to fair coverage in the broadcast media.
In 2019 FY, the Commission made a budget submission of Le 1,307,700,000 to the Ministry of Finance, with a budget ceiling of Le 767,200,000 but Le 578,710,400 was approved by the Ministry of Finance but actually received the total amount of Le423, 700,000 from the Government of Sierra Leone regular budget and expended Le 956,617,119.6 which included monies generated as own source revenue.
For the FY2020 the Commission submitted Le 4,344,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance with a 17 ceiling of Le 607,600,000 as ceiling, the total amount of Le 1,406,324,000 was approved by the Ministry of Finance but actually received the sum of Le 507,000,000 from the government of Sierra Leone Regular Budget and expended total sum of Le 727,071,587 from government of Sierra Leone regular budget and revenue generated from fines and fees.
The Independent Media Commission in 2019 generated an actual amount of Le 958,672,000 from payment of fees and fines paid by radio stations.

In 2020 the Commission generated the sum of Le 1,273,000,000 and has projected Le 3,956,000,000 for FY 2021.

For 2021 FY, the Commission made an original budget submission of Le 4,400,000,000 to Ministry of Finance.
According to the Vote Controller, an increase or decrease would affect the conduct of seminars/workshops on multiple media oversight, the popularization of the 2020 IMC Act, monitoring of media institutions, training and payment of stipends to monitors and related Administrative activities.
The Committee recommends that:  Ministry of Finance to give the actual allocation of the Commission for the financial year under review; and  The Commission should transfer it revenue into the single treasury account in line with the PFM act and the Presidential executive order.

The Committee viewed the 2021 budgetary allocation for the Commission as adequate and therefore recommends its approval by this Honourable House.

145-00 RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the Right to Access Information Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 2013 to provide for the disclosure of information held by a public authority or person providing services and other related matters.

The main mandate of the Commission is to protect the right to access information by everyone.
In 2019 FY, Ministry of Finance approved the sum of Le 1,024,700,000 to the Right to Access Information Commission and received the tune of Le1,063,500,000 From Ministry of Finance in the regular budget and expended Le 1,120,124,851.94 which included funds from donations.
For FY 2020 the Commission submitted the tune of Le 4,518,400,000 with a budget ceiling of Le 1,079,900,000, the sum of Le1, 019,800,000 was approved by the Ministry of Finance for the year under review, a total of Le 867,400,000 was allocated to the Commission but actually received Le 320,800,000 from the Government of Sierra Leone Regular Budget and expended Le 321,621,522.
18 In response to questions and concerns of the Committee on the affected areas of decrease, the Vote Controller said that the Commission could not intensify popularization of the 2013 Act at District, Chiefdoms and Community levels.
The Committee observed that the Commission with the little funds available was able to complete key important programs such as the records management component, the production of the first ever annual reports, which is a requirement in the 2013 RAIC act and that it lacked adequate financial support to attract higher calibre of staff to strengthen the human capacity of the Commission.
For 2021 FY, the Commission submitted a budget of Le 11,808,900,000 to the Ministry of Finance but was allocated the sum of Le 1, 134,800,000 .Responding to Committee’s questions on the effect of the decrease in budget submitted, the Vote Controller highlighted that there would be serious constrained on the popularization and effective implementation of the Right to Access Information Commission Act.
The Committee took into consideration the importance of the Mandate of the Commission and recommended that the Ministry of Finance to increase the budget allocation of the Commission and encouraged the Commission to continue with it activities and ensure that the ACT is popularised.

The Committee therefore observed that the budget allocated to the Commission is inadequate and that it should be considered by the Ministry of Finance for supplementary budget.
133 -00 MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Information and Communications is charged with the responsibility to supervise departments, agencies and the private sector within the telecommunications sector.

The Ministry has as its function to educate and sensitize the citizens on the activities of government and to improve on the image of this country in the outside world.
In 2019 FY, the Ministry of Information and Communications made a budget submission of Le 6,750,700,000, the total of Le 4,055,509,499 was approved by the Ministry of Finance but was allocated the sum of Le 2,262,273,937 but actually received the sum of Le 908,200,000 from the government of Sierra Leone regular Budget and the total of Le 1,627,973,937 as supplementary budget.

The Ministry actually expended an amount of Le 2,512,080,984 from the government regular budget and government supplementary budget.
In FY 2020, the Ministry submitted a budget of Le 8, 606,900,000 but Ministry of Finance approved the sum Le 4,626,700,000 but was allocated the sum of Le 5,035,290,000 and received the same amount from the Government of Sierra Leone 19 regular Budget, the Ministry received a Supplementary Budget of Le 1,703,000,000 and expended Le4,735,290,000.
For 2021 FY, the Ministry of Information and Communications submitted a budget of Le 9,619,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance but the sum of Le 4,000,000,000 was approved by the Ministry of finance.

According to the Permanent Secretary, the huge decrease would affect areas like Overseas Travels, Digital Migration Policy, cyber security, outreach activities locally and internationally and fuel.
The Committee was of the opinion that allocation for Ministry of Information and Communication for FY 2021 was adequate and therefore recommends for it approval.

300 00 MINISTRY OF TECHNICAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION (MTHE) Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the above mentioned Ministry is responsible for the development, management, promotion and supervision of Technical and Higher Education (including technical, vocational, colleges and university education) across the country.
The Ministry is a non-revenue generating Institution and largely depends on Government and its partners for the implementation of its programmes and activities.

In conformity with the Single Treasury Account Policy of Government, the Ministry operated only one account in 2019 Fiscal Year.

The said Account was an imprest account opened with the Bank of Sierra Leone under the Ministry’s name.
However, with Government’s proposal to introduce the student loan scheme, the Ministry has established another account through which all funds meant for the said scheme will be channelled.

In line with the above objective, the Ministry maintained a bank balance of Le 1,000,966,875.00 as at 30th September, 2020.

For the financial year under review, the sum of Le 65,880,800,000 was allocated to the Ministry.

Of that amount, the Ministry received Le 49,979,905,327 as recurrent budget.
As at 30th September, 2020, the Ministry expended Le 49,764,359,445.53 and left with a bank balance of Le 215,545,881.47.

For the Financial Year 2021, the Ministry submitted Le 173,978,900,000 as budget request for its activities.

But following careful review of its submission by the Ministry of Finance, the sum of Le 40,400,398,400 was allocated.
As one of the critical sectors that constitute the flagship programme of Government, the Ministry was not comfortable with the reduction from its original submission.

As a matter of fact, it was revealed that the decrease its submission will affect the effective implementation of the following key activities:  the ‘Students’ Loan Scheme’ 20  TVET Programmes  Administrative costs.
Against this background, among others, the Committee considers the 2021 budget allocation to the Ministry as inadequate and recommends a supplementary budget during the course of the financial year to enhance its performance in its pursuit and achievement of the Government agenda on human capital development.

300 04 TERTIARY EDUCATION COMMISSION (TEC) Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Tertiary Education Commission is a revenue generating Institution though in a very small scale.
For the period 2019, the Commission generated Le 457,000,000 as against its original target of Le 354,000,000.

According to the Commission, the increase in its revenue mobilization was as a result of intensified monitoring and evaluation measures put in place to identify institutions which were operating illegally.

In a like manner, the Commission also exceeded its revenue target in 2020 by generating Le 416,000,000 as against the same target it set in 2019.
The Commission also attributed the increase in its revenue generation in 2020 to a Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the Sierra Leone Police to enforce institutional compliance to the Commission’s Act, 2001 and its Regulations.

Reporting on the status of the above mentioned revenue, the Commission said that all revenue generated was deposited into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) opened at the Bank of Sierra Leone by the Accountant-General under the Commission’s name.
However, the Committee observed a decline in the revenue expectation of the Commission for the Financial Year, 2021.Accounting for that low projection, the Commission said that it is not anticipation to evaluate and register large number of institutions for the year under review as the majority of the institutions would be seeking renewal.
Besides, the introduction of certificates and diploma courses by the universities is adversely undermining the Commission’s efforts on revenue mobilization as the majority of the tertiary institutions are predominantly offering the same courses.

With respect it recurrent and development expenditure in 2020 Fiscal Year, the Commission admitted receipt of Le 2,101,000,000.00, including regular allocations and supplementary budget.
In addition, the Commission received Le 271,000,000.00 as donation for the period under review.

The donor support, according to the Commission, was expended on building the capacity of staff on quality assurance and the Development of National Quality Assurance Framework (NQF).

As at September, 30th this Year, the Commission utilized from its regular budget the sum of Le 21 1,767,153,341.14.

As against the same period, the Commission, however, maintained a bank balance of Le 333,846,658.86.
For the Financial Year 2021, the Commission submitted a budget estimate to the tune of Le 3,322,000,000.00 to the Ministry of Finance.

After close review by the Ministry, the sum of Le 1,974,730,300.00 has been allocated to the Commission subject to the approval of Parliament.

In the ensuing cross examination, the Committee observed that the Commission intends to implement several activities which require adequate funding.
Apparently, the reduction in its original budget will undermine the effective implementation of these activities including the following:  The accreditation of programmes and courses across the tertiary education institution;  The development of National Qualifications Framework (NQF);  The development and implementation of a Policy for Distance Learning Education; and  The Monitoring and Evaluation of programmes and courses across the tertiary education institutions.
Against this background, the Committee hereby recommends the approval of the 2021 budget allocation to the Commission and the provision of a supplementary budget during the course of the Financial Year to enable the Institution achieve its set objectives.

317 00 SIERRA LEONE COUNCIL FOR POSTGRADUATE COLLEGE OF HEALTH SPECIALISTS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the above mentioned Council came into being in 2016 through an Act of Parliament.
It was established to provide supervision and coordinate the training of Postgraduate Health Specialists and other related matters.

Since its establishment in 2016, the Council did not commence operation until 2019, following the appointment of the Chairman and other Council Members by His Excellency the President.
Generally, the key objectives for which the Council was established include the provision of postgraduate trainings on the following specialist disciplines:  Physicians and surgeons  Pharmacists  Nursing and Midwifery In addition to the above, the Council is also responsible to provide education and training for specialists and other post-basic cadres in different fields of medicine, etc, 22 and equip them with up-to-date knowledge, critical thinking skills and evidence-based practice.
Probing into the Council’s expenditure in 2019 Financial Year, the Committee observed that the Institution was not provided with any allocation despite the appointment of its Chairman and the other Members.

However, for the Financial Year (2020) under review, the Council submitted to the Ministry of Finance, a budget request to the tune of Le 36,600,000,000.00.
Following review by the Ministry of Finance, the Council’s submission was drastically reduced to Le 1,510,000,000.00 as allocation to cover its operation.

Of this amount, Le 500,000,000.00 was allocated to the Council as at the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Given the period the said allocation was made, the Council was only able to expend Le 249,275,000.00 and maintained a bank balance of Le 218, 818,000.00 as at 30th September, 2020.
In addition to its balance stated above, the Council accounted for two presented cheques amounting to Le 31,907,000.00.

For 2021 Financial Year, the Ministry of Finance allocated Le 2,753,612,500.00 to the Council as against its original budget submission to the tune of Le 3,927,300,000.00.
In line with the objectives for which it was established, the Council intends to undertake the following activities in the Financial Year 2021:  The inauguration of three postgraduate colleges;  The setting up of postgraduate college secretariat; and  Provision of logistical/mobility support such as vehicles to enhance movement of the Council and its constituent colleges.
To achieve the above, the Council is requesting adequate funding to provide all resident students the greater chance to advance in their medical careers, regardless their socio- economic backgrounds.

Mindful of the above mentioned goals, among others, the Committee hereby recommends the approval of the 2021 budget allocation to the Council by the House.
316 00 CIVIL SERVICE TRAINING COLLEGE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2020 Financial Year, Parliament approved Le 588,338,200.00 in support of the trainings conducted for public sector workers by the Civil Service Training College.

As at September, 2020, the College admitted receipt of Le 339,347,000.00 which comprised Le 332,000,000.00 and Le 7,347,500.00 of its regular budget allocation and revenue received from hall rentals, respectively.
For the Financial Year 2021, the Ministry has proposed to allocate Le 683,256,400.00 to the College subject to the approval of Parliament.

23 Mindful of the services of this Institution on the development of public sector employees, the Committee considers its 2021 budget allocation as adequate and recommends its approval by the House.

VOTE 406 00 MINISTRY OF ENERGY Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Energy (MoE) is headed by the Honourable Minister as the political head.
However, the Permanent Secretary is noted as the Vote Controller and the Administrative Head of the Ministry.

This Ministry is responsible to formulate and implement Policies, Projects and Programmes on energy and provide oversight functions across the entire energy supply chain involved in the production, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and other forms of energy supply and utilization.
It has a vision of creating enabling environment for the provision of modern energy service for all Sierra Leoneans.

Their vision is to develop policies and programs for the provision of energy in an adequate, affordable and sustainable basis to the people of Sierra Leone.
In order to attain a stable and diversified economic growth to consolidate the human capital development trajectory level, the Government of Rtd Brigadier Julius Maada Bio has begun making significant strides to accelerate the rural solar electrification expansion projects to cover all Chiefdoms Health Centres countrywide and to immediate communities in the long run.
In 2019 FY, the Ministry of Energy submitted a recurrent budget to the Ministry of Finance a sum of Le 265,411,600,000 and was actually allocated a sum of Le 135,941,857,400 for recurrent expenditure and Le 127,740,572,929.65 for development.

In 2019, the Ministry received a total fund of Le 238,778,617,923.92 from both government regular budget and donations, and expended a sum of Le 111,038,044,995 from its allocations, including supplementary budgets that were received from GoSL.
The above amount was utilised on administrative and operational costs, support to Bumbuna Water Shed Management Authority, Subsidies for fuel Supports to Power Supply Institutions, and Budget Training and Planning.

Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2019, the ministry expended on its developmental projects a total sum of Le 127,740,572,929.65 showing 100% utilisation of its budget that was allocated to them for their developmental projects.
In 2020 FY, the Ministry submitted a recurrent budget of Le 104,941,860,000 to the Ministry of Finance, but was actually allocated Le 162,716,693,196 for recurrent, and was also allocated Le 194,321,647,780.66 for development, showing an increment of their budget for 2020 FY as compared to 2019 FY.

In 2020 FY, the Ministry received a total of Le 339,109,859,199.66 from government regular budget and government supplementary budget.
The ministry expended a total sum of Le 147,421,711,587 24 from government allocations, including supplementary budgets that was utilised on their recurrent expenditures (Administration and Operation, support to Bumbuna water Shed Management Authority, Budget Training and Planning, Energy Subsidies for Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and other Loans and Structural Interventions).
For 2020 FY, the Ministry also utilised Le 191,835,283,338.66 on developmental projects (Rural Electrification of 6 District Headquarter Towns, Rehabilitation and Expansion of Bo - Kenema Distribution System, Rural Electrification Project – Cote d’Ivoire Liberia Sierra Leone Guinea (CLSG), and Energy sector Utility Reform Project.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2019 and 2020, the following projects were funded with funds received as grants and loans:  Rehabilitation and Expansion of Bo-Kenema Distribution System  6MW Solar Park Project  Rural Electrification CSLG (serving Communities along the Transmission Line)  Energy Sector Utility Reform Project.
The Committee observed that the Ministry has to pay a balance of $ 2,629,359.54 on the following projects:  Reinforcement and Expansion of the Medium and Low Voltage Network in Western Area Installation of 8,880 Solar Street Lights   Consultancy on Supervision of the Installation of the 8,880 Solar Street Lights; and  6MW HFO Thermal Plant in Lungi.

The Ministry of Energy submitted a budget of Le 258,178,100,000 but a budget of Le 187,003,337,700 was approved by the Ministry of Finance.
For 2021 FY, the Ministry of Energy proposed to recruit 21 staff with a cumulative monthly salary of Le, 21, 429,065 for all the 21 The approved deliverables of the Ministry for 2021 FY which according to the Vote controller are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) includes the following:  Energy sector Utility Project  West African Power Pool Project  Rural Electrification and Expansion of Bo-Kenema Distribution System  Supply and Installation of 225KV Double Circuit Transmission Line from Bumbuna to Waterloo  Electrification of 7 District Towns  Rehabilitation of Goma/Hydro Dam  Rehabilitation of EGTC Plants 25  Installation of Solar Street Lights.
For 2021 FY, the Ministry proposed to pay a balance of $2,629,359.54 on its projects (Reinforcement and Expansion of the Medium and Low Voltage Network in Western Area, Installation of 8,880, Solar Street Lights, Consultancy on Supervision of the Installation of the 8,880 Solar Street Lights, and 6MW HFO Thermal Plant in Lungi).
ELECTRICITY GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION COMPANY Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee observed that the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC) was not captured in the 2021 Appropriation Bill presented in Parliament by the Ministry of Finance.

However, the Management of the Company appeared before the Committee for Parliamentary Scrutiny of its expenditure for the period under review.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC) as stipulated in the National Electricity Act, 2011, is mandated to generate and transmit electricity for sale to Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA).

This is, however, subjected to a power purchase agreement approved by the Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC).
targets Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2019 FY, EGTC set Le 233,933,845,397.04 as their revenue target, but it generated a total of Le 132,559,363,440.

In 2020 FY, EGTC collected Le to generate Le 186,990,860,662.38 and 98,667,983,481.00.

There were variances between their revenue generation targets and the revenues generated for both 2019 and 2020 FYs.
The reason given by the Vote Controller for not meeting their targets was that, EDSA being the only customer does not honour their monthly invoices submitted.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the proceeds of EGTC are utilised to operate and maintain the power stations including overhead expenses.

Nothing is paid to the consolidated funds but partly withheld by EDSA by non-payment to EGTC.
The sale of electricity to Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) as a single customer is the source of revenue generation for EGTC.

The challenges EGTC encountered in revenue generation are:  Lack of adequate funds to procure fuel and maintenance of their generating plant  No tax rebate on procurement of fuel and spare parts making the IPP more competitive in terms of tariff per kWh.
The EGTC recommends that they start doing business with their customers as spelt in the Amended Electricity Act of 2018.

EGTC requires the government to invest in EGTC in both generation and transmission system.

The Committee therefore requested the submission of documents for the variances.

26 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2019, EGTC indebted to NRA an outstanding sum of Le 72,024,959,506.18 for Goods and Services Tax, and Le 2,462,983,146.78 for PAYE for which EGTC plans to pay on monthly basis.
In 2020, EGTC also have huge outstanding balances to pay to NRA, NASSIT, Kis Procurement and General Trading, and Integrated Power and Control Solutions for which EGTC plans to pay based on contract agreement.

For 2021 FY, the EGTC targets to generate a sum of Le 312,181,646,400.

EGTC plans to institute better mechanisms for revenue generation and plans to solicit support from the government in order to sell directly to its new big customers as per the Amended Act of 2018.
They also plan to seek support from government by empowering EGTC to provide more than 70% of its power and put strategies in place for EDSA to make appropriate payment to maintain the service to the Nation.

VOTE 413 00 SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) was established in 2011, through an Act of Parliament, but became fully operational in 2015.
As part of its key mandate, the Commission is charged with the responsibility to regulate the prices charged by utility service providers and thus ensure that they provide members of the public with quality services.

In 2019 FY, Le 500,000,000 was budgeted for the Commission by the Ministry of Finance as recurrent expenditure to cover its operational activities.

The EWRC actual amount received from the government was Le 3,286,664,733.
In addition, the Commission also generated in 2019 the following amounts from certain institutions:  EDSA Le 4,235,135,999;  GVWC Le 378,155,346;  EGTC Le 2,339,338,454;  SALWACO Le 19,666,465; and  LICENSES Le 75,543,500.

In 2020 FY, the Commission generated Le 2,786,825,575 from EDSA and Le 134,910,217 from Licenses.

The Commission could not achieve its budgeted amount for revenue generation from certain institutions due to financial constraints.
According to the Vote Controller, their tax is always levied by 1% for EDSA; they do not have a target.

The Act gives EWRC the power to levy fines on the relevant companies.

The Committee observed that, there were no fines levied; the Committee therefore demands the actual figures of what was collected and the outstanding.

27 total sum of Le In 2019 FY Le 10,501,233,996.69 and expended a 5,723,626,420.70.

The Commission received a grant of Le 3.286, 664,733 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
In 2020 FY, the Commission generated a total sum of Le 4,472,179,878.50 and expended a total sum of Le 1,286,534,566.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the generating sources of EWRC is from levies and development partners.

However, noncompliance of Government Utilities to pay levies, not enough sources of revenue generation to obtain independence as a Regulatory Commission have been the stormy blocks in revenue generation for EWRC.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, revenues generated in 2019 and the three quarters of 2020 were used to fund performance monitoring activities, public engagement and administrative expenses.

No direct transfers were made to the consolidated revenue account but the account of the Commission is part of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and sends monthly expenditure analysis to the Accountant General's Office.
The Committee notes that, EWRC is yet to receive the TSA Cheque-Book; however, they submit monthly expenditure analysis to the Accountant General's Office.

The Committee notes that, EWRC has been compliant in paying their NASSIT Contributions and NRA Withholding taxes for both 2019 and 2020 FYs.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, for 2021 FY a budget of Le 2.04 billion was submitted to the Ministry of Finance and a sum of Le 954,379,100 was approved.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Commission recommends that, levy be collected from Gas, Solar Energy and Mini Hydro Plant as provided in the 2021 Act as other available sources of revenue.

According to the Vote Controller, an increase in salary grant will enable the Commission recruit more staff to aid the proposed expansion in 2021.

A reduction in other costs will affect performance monitoring and public engagement, including outreach activities.
In 2021 FY, the Commission intends to deliver on the following:  Enforcement of Regulations passed by Parliament;  Produce Quarterly Performance Monitoring Reports showing service quality and consumer service statistics;  Produce Quarterly Complaints Management Report showing service how quickly consumer complaints are solved;  Register a minimum of 700 licenses and permits holders;  Engage Stakeholders on Plan and Implement Report; and  Produce EWRC Outreach Perception Survey Report showing increased awareness.
28 125 00 THE LOCAL COURTS Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Local Court is under the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Therefore, it allocation was under the vote of the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice in the previous years.

For FY 2021, Local Court was given a separate Vote Head by Ministry of Finance and for the said year, it was allocated Le 493,957,300.
During the probing, the Committee observed that the tenure of Members and mandate of the Court had expired.

Therefore, the Committee called on the immediate dissolution of the Membership of the Local Court and new one reconstituted.

In view of the above, the Committee recommends that the Le 493,957,300 allocation made to the Court be withheld until its Membership is dissolved and reconstituted.
JUDICIARY OF SIERRA LEONE 118-00 Sierra Leone’s Judiciary of Sierra Leone is one of the three (30 Arms of Government which is charged with the responsibility to interprets and applies the laws of Sierra Leone to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution.

Sections 120 to 145 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone Act No.

6 of 1991 guaranteed its independence.


Headed by the Chief Justice, the Judiciary comprises the Lower Courts, represented by the Magistrates Courts and the Local Courts and the Superior Courts, represented by the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, under revenue, the Vote Controller disclosed that the Judiciary is indeed generating revenue.
However, he continued the said revenue is collected and recorded by NRA officials and unfortunately, the said records are not made available to the Judiciary for verification.

For 2020 FY, the Judiciary made a budget submission of Le15, 151,400,000 to the Ministry of Finance but after its examination by the Ministry, it was allocated Le16, 967,132,600.
For the same year, the Judiciary however received Le14, 722,200,000 from GoSL Le 14, 762,934,155 and Le 40,734,155 accrued from sales of bid and medical refunds.

In total therefore, the Judiciary Le14, 762,934,155 and has so far expended Le 9, 310,609,074.74.

Bank balance and reconciliation documents as at 30th September 2020 accounted for the sum of Le 3,601,332,902.86 meant for the implementation of on-going Programmes and to meet administrative expenses.
For FY 2021, the Judiciary’s original budget submission to the Ministry of Finance was Le 22,053,000,000 to meet its projected activities for the year under review.

However, it was allocated Le 14, 000,000,000, incurring a short fall of Le 29 8,053,000,000 from its original submission.
In that regard, the Vote Controller disclosed that the huge cut will affect the following:  Proceedings of special criminal sessions;  Automation of the Court records system;  Stipends and transportation to Jurors;  Training of Judges and Magistrates;  The rehabilitation of all magistrate Courts; and  Procurement of furniture (Court benches for Magistrates Courts) The Vote Controller therefore called on Members to see reasons with the Judiciary and recommends supplementary allocation.
Considering the importance of the judiciary in the dispensation of justice, protection of human rights, promotion of peace and security among many others considers the Judiciary’s allocation adequate and recommends its approval.
140-00 THE JUSTICE AND LEGAL SERVICE COMMISSION The Justice and Legal Service Commission pursuant to section 104 of the Constitution the has power to advise the President on the appointment of Judges, other than the Chief Justice, the acting appointment of Judges and the revocation of such acting appointments.

The President must act upon the advice he receives from the Commission on all such matters.
The Commission, under section 111 of the Constitution, has power to appoint persons to hold or act in prescribed public offices for which legal qualifications are required; including the power to make appointments on promotion, to transfer and confirm appointments and to remove and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding or acting in such offices.

In tandem with Section 110 of the Constitution, the Commission comprised the Chief Justice as its Chairman among others.
The Commission’s budget allocation by Ministry of Finance for FY 2020 was Le 401,429,200 and the said amount was completely exhausted in the implementation of justice and legal services.

For 2021 FY, the Commission’s allocation by Ministry of Finance pending Parliamentary approval was Le 466,192,900.
The Committee approved all the allocation made by Ministry of Finance to the Commission 124-00 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE The Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice is one of the legacies of Colonial Political Administration in Sierra Leone established in 1961.

It was combined with the Ministry of Justice in 1978 following a Constitutional amendment.
The office is responsible for prosecuting all offenses in the name of the Republic of Sierra Leone and its sub offices are the Solicitor General and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

30 The 2020 FY budget submission of the office was Le 15,863,100,000 but the approved allocation by Parliament was Le 8,923,499,400.

Of this amount, the office has received and expended Le 6,540,800,000 all its allocation and majority of the expenditures were on administration, local and international travelling.
ADMINISTRATOR AND REGISTRAR GENERAL 124-01 Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Office of the Administrator and Registrar General OARG) comprise the General Registry which was established under the General Registration Act of 1995, Cap 55 and the Office of the Administrator General by the Administration of Estate Act 1960 Cap 45 of the Laws of Sierra Leone.
With the Amendment of the Administration of the Estate Act 1976, the two Offices were merged under the supervision of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

The OARG performs the following the following activities: the registration of Lands; Businesses; Marriages; Intellectual properties and Estates, etc.

As one of Government key revenue generation institution, the OARG revenue projection for FY 2020 was Le 5,000,000,000 and as 30th September, the Office has impressively collected Le 4,191,760,608.
It revenue generation projection for FY 2021 is Le 5,200,000,000.

For 2020 FY, the OARG submitted to budget amounting to Le 4,764,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance but was allocated Le 2,622,000,000 and the OARG has received and expended this entire amount.

Supporting documents revealed that their expenditure was prudent.

The OARG‘s budget submission for FY 2021 was Le 4, 045,069,000 and the Committee views this allocation adequate and recommends its approval.
124 07 LEGAL AID BOARD Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board is an independent non-profit state legal assistance organization.

The Legal Aid Act was passed in May 2012 and the Board started operation in May 2015 following the opening of the Office in Freetown.

The Legal Aid Board is the largest legal aid organization in the country and this is so because it has paralegals in all the sixteen Districts in the country.
Also, they have eighteen Lawyers, eight of whom are resident outside Freetown.

The Board has established a niche in the provision of primary justice services.

And this has made it easier for people, particularly those in remote communities to access justice through Alternative Dispute Resolution Services, Legal Empowerment, referrals to the relevant justice systems and provision of advice and legal assistance to both administrators and users of the Local Court and the informal justice system.
31 Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, for the 2020 FY, the Legal Aid Board made an original budget submission of Le6,372,590,000 but its Parliamentary approved allocation was Le6,321,000,000.

In the ensuring hearings, the Committee noted that the Board received Le 4,494,317,316 from GoSL and additional Le 1,023,468,644 donor funding from Global Fund and UNICEF.
The donor fund was exclusively meant for the promotion of the core functions of the Legal Aid Board and National Aids Secretariat in dealing with interest and rights of indigenes living with HIV and AIDS and providing legal service for children in contact with law.

The total expenditure of the Board as at 30th September was Le 4,057,844,851.
Responding to probing questions relating to the Boards challenges in the dispensation of its mandate, the Vote Controller informed the Committee that the Board is facing enormous challenges which include but not limited to the following:  Inadequate means of transportation – the Board has shortage in motorbikes to move from point to point.
Staff shortage (currently have 18 lawyers and need to recruit an additional 10) Salary disparity – employees are leaving the Board for Law Officers department and other institutions with better conditions of service.

  For FY 2021, the Board presented a budget amount of Le 12,899,100,000 but was allocated Le 5,000,000,000 which is subject to Parliamentary approval.
Generally, the Committee was pleased with the work of the Board as well as its expenditure for the year under review and therefore recommends as follows:   The budget allocation for the Board be increased by 5% That provision be made for the Board to have motorbikes for ease of movement in the field That the conditions of service be reviewed so as to make the salary and other allowances competitive with that of other institutions in the same sector.
 124 05 JUSTICE SECTOR COORDINATION OFFICE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Justice Sector Coordination Office was established in June 2007 by the Government of Sierra Leone to reform the justice delivery institutions as a means of strengthening democratic good governance.

In a nutshell, this office addresses the challenges encountered within the justice system through reform initiative processes that should be effectively coordinated across various departments and agencies.
It therefore utilizes both government and donor funds through projects and other engagements.

During the process of scrutinizing the questionnaire, the Committee observed the following: 32  For the 2020 FY this Sector initially submitted a budget of Le794,509,000 and an amount of Le636,100,000 was approved by Parliament and an amount of Le594,509,000 was allotted and received for Quarters 1-3.

This decrease in the budget allocation affected key service deliverables as opined by the Coordinator.
These deliverables include the enactment of critical legislations through stakeholders engagement, providing trainings for M&E personnel and data management in the Sector, Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Investment Plan to name but a few.

 It can be stated without doubt that there is an existing malaise in the legal and justice sector and there is need for strategic reforms in the rule of law.
Creating awareness on gender and human rights issues and encouraging legal institutions to effectively collaborate and accelerate court proceedings, would largely contribute to the overall improvement in our justice system.

However, there is still need to have a well-defined role for this Sector so as to diligently analyse the successes and limitations.
Having this in mind and looking at the scope of the Sector in its entirety, the Committee believes that the Le633, 560,800 allocation to this Sector for 2021 is adequate and therefore recommends its approval.

110 12 LAW REFORM COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Law Reform Commission was established as an Agency of Government under the Law Reform Commission Decree in 1994 and as amended in 1999.
The Commission has a statutory mandate to review the Laws of Sierra Leone for the purposes of the need for reform, consolidation and codification.

Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, for the 2020 FY, the Commission’s original budget submission was Le 1,500,000,000.00 recurrent expenditure and 4,015,000,000.00 for Capital Expenditure.

In total therefore, the Commission’s original budget submission was Le 5,515,000,000.00.
Subject to Parliamentary approval, Ministry of Finance allocated the sum of Le1, 069,600,000.00 (recurrent expenditure Le 869,600,000.00 and Capital Expenditure Le 200,000,000.00).

the for The Committee considers the budget allocation of Le809, 892,600 to be adequate and recommends its approval.
124 06 SIERRA LEONE LAW SCHOOL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Law School provides professional legal training and conducts final examinations for those persons seeking to become members of the legal profession in Sierra Leone.
Since 1990 the Law school has been enrolling graduates holding honours degree in law awarded by the University of Sierra 33 Leone or holding any other degree in Law from a recognized University or any other institution of higher learning of a commonwealth country approved by the Council of Legal Education.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, for the 2020 FY, the Law School submitted an initial budget of Le 1,149,200,000 and an amount of Le616,300,000 was approved by Parliament and an amount of Le471,200,000 was allocated for its intended activities.

The Committee noted that there were a lot of institutional lapses at the School.

At present there is no clear chain of command as both the positions of Director and Registrar are vacant.
When the questionnaires were returned, it was observed that they were unsigned and when asked, the Finance Director stated that none of them had the authority to append their signature.

This posed some challenges for the committee because as stated by the Chairman someone had to take responsibility.

The Committee considers the Law School’s allocation of Le 815,784,300 for FY to be adequate and therefore recommends its approval.

VOTE [409 – 00] MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the Ministry of Trade’s mandated is to implement National Trade and Industrial policies, provides policy guidance and supervises the nine (9) Departments and Agencies under its purview for efficient and effective service delivery to the citizens of Sierra Leone.

The Ministry’s vision is to envisage a private sector-led economy which will ensure that socio-economic needs of the citizens are met through private sector development, job and wealth creation.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, an amount of Le 1,701,200,000 was allocated by Ministry of Finance to the Ministry for FY 2020 out of an approved budget of Le 2,627,100,000 for the same year.

Of the above mentioned allocation, the Ministry received a sum total of Le 2,056,291,883 (including a supplementary of Le 355,091,883) for FY 2020.
With regards to expenditure, the Ministry, as at 30th September 2020, expended Le 1,700,363,883 and bank balance as at 30th September indicated that Le 355,928,000 was unutilised and according to the Permanent Secretary, this amount will be used to run the office between October and December.

The Ministry made its FY 2021 Budget submission of Le 12,116,500,000 but was allocated with Le 3,250,541,500.
Responding to probing questions relating to the areas that will be affected as a result of the huge gap between the budget submitted and that which was approved, the Vote Controller disclosed that it will adversely affect the purchase of vehicles, facilitation and coordination of strategic policies, legislative reviews, furniture and equipment, stationaries, computer running cost and fuel.
34 Considering the relevance of strategic policies and legislative reviews to be done by the Ministry to further attract investment and trade and to ensure that doing business in Sierra Leone is conducive, the Committee recommends a supplementary budget allocation to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

VOTE [409-01] SIERRA LEONE STANDARDS BUREAU Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau (SLSB) was created by the Standards Act of 1996, with the responsibility of coordinating standardisation and quality management activities in Sierra Leone.

In addition, SLSB is mandated by the Weight and Measures Act of 2010 to authorise and validate the use of metric system of measurement in the entire country.

Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, SLSB is one of Government’s revenue generation institutions.
Therefore, in 2020 FY, SLSB’s revenue target was Le 11,715,000,000 but only collected Le 1,350,700,551.
Queried as to the abysmal performance in revenue collection for the year under review, the Executive Director attributed this to the following:  The withholding of destination inspection fees by Ministry of Finance against statutory instrument that gave such powers to SLSB;  Decrease of fees charged for services provided by SLSB as ordered by MTI with the view to decrease burden on customers due to the Covid-19;  Limited logistics and presence if SLSB country wide;  Testing laboratories are yet to be certified to have met International Standards;  Limited test scopes/parameters due to lack of laboratory resources, especially analytical equipment;  Absence of standby generator to reduce turn-around times of laboratory tests and thereby increase turnover of tests; and  Low morale of Staff due to dearth of tools of trade.
The Director further stated that notwithstanding the above mitigating factors, he mentioned the following as potential source of revenue for 2021:  Calibration, verification and surveillance of electricity and water meters;   Deployment of SLSB Staff at all border crossing points;  Establishment of SLSB Regional Offices for efficient service delivery with respect to Implementation of quality marks on products; Market surveillance activities; and Increased tighter internal control measures to minimize waste of resources  Bearing in mind that GoSL heavily relied on internal revenue generation to meet infrastructural expenditure on health, education, roads, human capital development, 35 among others, the Committee encourages SLSB do more in tits revenue generation drive.
In 2020 FY, the SLSB’s Parliamentary approved allocation was Le 3,723,915,400 but as at 30th September, it has received Le 1,714,164,824.36 GoSL regular budget and Le 604,538,392.89 Supplementary budgets.

For FY 2021, the Bureau was allocated Le 4,000,000,000.

VOTE [409- 00] SIERRA LEONE INVESTMENT AND EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCY [SLIEPA] Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency [SLIEPA] was created by an Act of Parliament in 2007.
The objective of the Agency is to promote and facilitate investment opportunities in Sierra Leone and provide information to potential investors on matters relating to investment.

The Agency had an approved budget of Le 5,033,200,000 for 2020, but was given an actual allocation of Le 2,988,000,000.

As at September 30th, the Agency has received GoSL Le 2,762,600,000 and a grant of Le 856, 500,000 to buy vehicle.
For the same year, the Agency’s expenditure covering 1st of January to 30th September (excluding grant) amount to Le 2,277,090,815 and closing bank balance accounted for the unexpended amount.

Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, responding to questions on Capital Projects undertaken by the Agency in 2020, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) disclosed that the Agency did not undertake any capital project 2020.
However, he revealed that there is an on-going rehabilitation of the Agency’s Headquarter that started in 2019 FY with support from Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) amounting to Le 1,200,000,000.

For the FY 2021, the Agency made a budget submission of Le 9,710,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance.

However, the allocation made to the Agency by MoF for the year under review was Le 5,000,000,000.
The CEO reported that a decrease in the allocation amounting to Le 4,710,000,000 will result into funding shortfall which will adversely affect the achievement of the Agencies’ 2021 deliverables.

Mr Chairman, bearing in mind that donor support to the Agency has dwindled in the last two years and such situation continue in the coming year, the Committee recommends supplementary budgetary allocation.

VOTE [419- 00] LOCAL CONTENT AGENCY Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, the Local Content Agency [LCA] was created by the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency Act 2016 and its main objectives is to promote Sierra 36 Leone Local Content Development by effectively and efficiently managing the administration and regulation of Sierra Leone Local Content development.

Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Agency had an approved budgetary allocation of Le 3,217,800,000 as against Le 4,698,800,000 budget submission for 2020.
For the same year, the Agency received a total amount of Le 2,047,673,224 for quarters 1 and 2 only as follows: Le 1,150,000,000 for the procurement of one (1) Toyota Prado TLX and one (1) Toyota Hilux for t office; and Le 897,673,224 for Office running cost, administration and Programmes.

Of this amount, the Agency’s expenditure as at 30th September 2020 was Le 1,150,000,000 for the procurement of vehicles and Le 450,616,511.33 for office running cost, administration and Programmes.
The Agency’s bank balance accounted for the remaining unexpended amount.

Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the original budget submission of the Agency to Ministry of Finance for FY 2021 was Le 13,078,700,000 but the actual amount of allocation to the Agency was Le 3,000,000,000, representing over 60% cut in the Agency’s original submission.
Responding to questions relating to the huge budget cut and its consequences, the Director General unequivocally expressed frustration over the cut on the grounds that the Agency is one of the New Direction Government ‘babies’ that if capacitated will promote local production and consumption, add value to local produce, re-ignite local industries, re-vitalize SMEs, create jobs for citizens, among others.
He went further to say that the cut will specifically affect the following areas:  Communications and outreach Programmes;  Research, monitoring and evaluation;  Procurement and supplier market development programme; and  Skills development Programmes Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, bearing in mind the critical role of the Agency and taking into consideration its role in the areas of local content production and consumption, promotion of local industries and value addition, employment, procurement, capacity building, the Committee recommends transfer and skill supplementary budgetary allocation to this Agency in the FY 2021. technology transfer, VOTE [409-01]: DEPARTMENT OF COOPERATIVES The Department of Cooperatives is a unit within the Ministry of Trade and Industry established through the Cooperative Act of 1977.
Its mandate is to establish, promote and supervise groups of people who voluntarily associate to do business using the cooperative business enterprise model in order to better their lives.

It also provides technical support to cooperatives in terms of administration, business development and market orientation.

37 Mr Chairman, Hon.


Members, out of the Le 963,634,700 allocation made to the Department by MoF and approved by Parliament for FY 2020, it has received as at 30th September Le 537,600,000 and expended Le 437,000,000.

For the 2021 FY, the Department’s original budget submission to MoF was Le 3,100,000 in line with its ceiling and the same amount was approved.

However, MoF actual allocated amount to the Department was Le 1,019,100,000.
Responding to questions on the areas that will be affected by the cut in the Department’s budget submission for the year under review, the Acting Registrar disclosed that year in and year out, the Department’s budget is seriously slashed and this makes it virtually impossible to get cooperative societies across the country fully operational.

He furthered that it also affected communications and outreach Programmes, research and documentation and trainings.
During the hearings, some Members recounted their experiences with cooperatives in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

They asserted that their parents sponsored their education through cooperatives like tobacco growers cooperatives, cassava and potato growers cooperatives, cacao and coffee growers cooperatives, palm oil and nut oil cooperatives, among many others.
In addition, they said cooperatives at that time ushered in livelihoods, jobs and income in rural communities that was largely responsible for limited rural urban migration.

Optimistic about the benefits of cooperatives especially in rural communities and to revamp and revivify the sector, the Committee encourages the Acting Director to continue to tape into donor partners and global cooperatives organizations for support.
The Committee observed that the Acting Registrar, who has been in the institution for over 15 years and rose through the ranks, has been in an Acting position for quiet too long and Members view this as demotivating.

Therefore, the Committee recommends for his promotion to the position of Registrar and a deputy be appointed to support him.

In view of the above, the Committee recommends a supplementary budget allocation to the Department for FY 2021.
[409-04] SIERRA LEONE PRODUCE MARKETING COMPANY Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company [SLPMC] replaced the former Sierra Leone Producing Marketing Board [SLPMB] by an Act of Parliament in 2009.

This was as result of the devastation of the civil war which ravaged the growing and buying rural communities of the then SLPMB.

The SLPMC, which became fully operational in 2012, is a fully owned Government entity, supervised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
As a revenue generation institution, SLPMC revenue target for 2020 FY was Le 9,729,570,000 from rice, cocoa, palm oil, rent and royalties.

However, the company 38 collected an encouraging amount of Le 7,575,792,184 for the same year and from the same sources and this concerned the Committee especially when it is obvious that internal revenue generation is critical for Government to achieve its New Direction Manifesto.
Like the Committee, the Managing Director was also concerned about the revenue generation but however attributed the awful performance to the Covid-19, lack of trading capital by the company, limited funding support to farmers, lack of machineries to process products, among others.

As for 2021 FY, the company’s revenue target is Le 22,686,100,000 and the GM assured the Committee that his institution will do more in its revenue collection drive.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Mr Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Committee observed that the Company is operating several bank accounts and therefore not in compliance with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in contravention of Section 47 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016.

According to the Vote Controller, the Company is working towards attaining a Public Limited Company status that will attract more private sector investment and it is on that understanding with MoF the Company is funding itself and not paying to the TSA.
The Committee therefore urged the Company to coordinate with MoF and bring that to the attention of Parliament with the view to make the necessary amendment.

The Company’s budget approved by Parliament for FY 2020 was Le 1,350,094,000.

However, the Company expended Le 6,750,000,000 and this includes wages and salaries, other operational expenses and trading activities.
For FY 2021, the Ministry of Finance budget allocation to PMC subject to Parliamentary approval was Le 1,467,908,500 and since the Company is self-funded, the Committee recommends the approval of its allocated budget.

CONCLUSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, pursuant to Section 111 Sub-section [3]1 and S.O.
66[1&2], the Committee on Finance unanimously recommends that the entire budget Heads, including the Sub-Heads listed below, stand part of the schedule and that the recommendations contained therein be approved in order to enhance effective service delivery to the nation.

39 Table 1: MDAs Account Heads and their Allocations for 2021 Vote Div.
Vote Description Amount [Le] for Postgraduate College of Health 27,960,903,000 66,255,725,600 30,284,921,700 2,656,446,000 2,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,500,000,000 132,577,697,000 3,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 3,588,935,300 40,400,398,400 1,974,730,700 3,837,496,900 Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority [SLCAA] Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority [SLRSA] Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Teaching Service Commission [TSC] Office of the Ombudsman National Commission for Democracy National Commission for Human Rights National Telecommunications Commission [NATCOM] Mass Media Services [SLBC] Independent Media Commission [IMC] Right to Access Information Commission Ministry of Information and Communications Ministry of Technical and Higher Education Tertiary Education Commission [TEC] S/L Council Specialists 683,256,400 Civil Service Training College 187,003,337,700 Ministry of Energy 954,379,100 S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission 493,957,300 The Local Courts 14,000,000,000 Judiciary of Sierra Leone 466,192,900 The Justice and Legal Service Commission 8,000,000,000 Office of the Solicitor General 4,045,069,000 Administrator and Registrar General 5,000,000,000 Legal Aid Board 633,560,800 Justice Sector Coordination Office 809,892,600 Law Reform Commission 815,784,300 Sierra Leone Law School 3,250,541,500 Ministry of Trade & Industry Sierra Leone Standards Bureau 4,000,000,000 Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency 5,000,000,000 3,000,000,000 Local Content Agency 1,019,100,600 Department Of Cooperatives 1,467,908,500 Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company 40