As SLCB Charges 39% Instead of 19%… Customer Suffers Interest Rate Of Le1 Billion

By Aruna Momoh Kargbo
Like other anomalies for which the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (SLCB) remains unaccounted for, the Bank’s incorrect calculation of the required interest rate cost a customer wrong interest rate of NLe1,080,664.74 which is equivalent to Le1,080,664,000.74 in old Leones.
This was revealed by the protector of the Sierra Leone public purse, Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) in their recently published report, highlighting that there was no review work carried out on inputs into the system and therefore there is a risk that incorrect calculations are processed.
“For instance, the wrong rate of 39% was charged to a customer leading to a wrong interest charge of NLe1,080,664.74, instead of the approved rate of 19%,” ASSL stated.
The audit maintained that the customer could have been charged NLe531,479.43. and that the errors were only noticed several months later.
The report recommended that inputs into the system should be reviewed and approved before postings into the system.
“There was no management response or additional evidence provided by management. Therefore, the issue remains unresolved,” the report noted.