HRMO Director Of Payroll Fails To Account For Le14.4 B
By Aruna Momoh Kargbo
The Director of Payroll at the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO), Mohamed Aluysius Edmond fails to account for the sum of NLe14,453,596.17 which is equivalent to Le14,453,596,000 in old Leones as payment made to government employees who are above the retirement age.
This was revealed by the protector of the Sierra Leone public purse, Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) in their recently published Audit Report noting that they observed that the names of some government employees above the retirement age of sixty years, and in some cases 65 years were still on the payroll.
The report furthered that there was no evidence of extension letters justifying their continued stay on the payroll adding that the annual gross salaries paid to the employees amounted to NLe56,424,942.07.
“We observed that some staff in the CSM system were without a National Identification Number (NIN) issued by the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA),” the report stated.
The report maintained that retaining personnel in the payroll system without an approved extension letter, could result in financial loss to government and that profiling wrong ages in the Civil Service Management system could result is challenges to determine the actual retirement age of personnel.
For which ASSL recommended that the Director of Payroll Administration, HRMO, should ensure the following:
Provide evidence of approved extension letters and reasons for granting such extension.
Amend the birth dates of personnel profiled as underage in the CSM system. Furthermore, personal files for the six staff members should be submitted and the said staff made available for physical verification.
Corrective measures are taken to rectify the NIN in the CSM System, and the updated database is submitted to the ASSL.
Responding to the audit, HRMO stated that the findings have been noted and that they wish to communicate that academic staff at tertiary institutions and Judges retire at 65 years and not the normal 60 years.
“This is in accordance with the University Act and Judges Act,” HRMO stated.
HRMO added that political appointees under consultant and SVAs categories have no age limit, and that their appointments are statutory, and they cannot be removed from the payroll unless they are dismissed or replaced by the president, or in the event of death.
HRMO further clarify that the Accountant General, MOF, and HRMO, as employing authorities, have, over the years, ensured data integrity in the payroll which includes the correction of wrong NASSIT numbers, NIN numbers, and NASSIT numbers, etc.
“Documentary evidence was submitted, totalling NLe41,971,345.90, representing 74.38% of the queried amount, leaving a balance of NLe14,453,596.17; therefore, the issue remains partially resolved” ASSL stated.
