Over Le165 B NASSIT Investment In Limbo
By Aruna Momoh Kargbo
An investment by the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), worth NLe165,093,760.58 which is equivalent to Le165,093,760,000 in old Leones remains unaccounted for.
This was disclosed by the protector of the Sierra Leone public purse, Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) in their recently published report which looks into the account of Sierra Leone.
The report maintained that a review of the operations of the subsidiary companies of the Trust revealed that three of the companies with a cumulative exposure amounting to NLe165,093,760.58 had either ceased operations, or not in existence as at 31st December, 2023.
“We recommended that the General Manager disinvest these subsidiaries and ensure that the investments are written-off in the books of account and that evidence of actions taken by the Trust should be submitted to ASSL,” the report ordered.
In their response, the Trust stated that Kimbima Hotel ceased operations on 22nd February 2022, due to structural integrity defects of the hotel and that management hired a firm to conduct a thorough assessment of the integrity of the structures of the hotel, adding that a report was submitted for the attention of management and mentioned that Kimbima Hotel is among the toxic loans and debentures write-offs.
That the Sierra Akker Agricultural Company ceased operations in 2020 and that no reports were submitted since then, despite continuous requests by the Trust and falls among the toxic loans and debentures write-offs.
The Trust added that the Sisimi project was in its formation stage when an investigation was carried out, and those found culpable had paid the fines into the Consolidated Fund.
“We were provided with a structural report in respect of Kimbima Hotel during the verification. The said investments (Kimbima Hotel, Sierra Akker and Sisimi) were still reported in the Financial Statements at their book values with no evidence of write-offs or impairment provision. Therefore, the issue remains unresolved,” the audit stated.
