By Emiola Osifeso
A new World Bank World Economic Report has revealed that Sierra Leone lost an estimated $24.7 million over the last three years due to widespread financial leakages linked to transit bank frauds, unpaid tax arrears, contract non-compliance, and weak institutional oversight.
According to the report, the losses reflect a troubling pattern of systemic inefficiencies and persistent failures in enforcing fiscal regulations across several ministries, departments, and agencies. Despite years of reform commitments and the establishment of oversight institutions, the World Bank notes that leakages remain entrenched in the country’s public financial system.
The report warns that these financial losses represent major missed development opportunities, particularly in the areas of healthcare delivery, educational improvement, and infrastructure expansion. It stresses that funds lost through fraud and mismanagement could have significantly strengthened social programs and national growth initiatives.
As part of its recommendations, the World Bank is urging Sierra Leone to enhance its public financial management systems, introduce stronger accountability and compliance frameworks, and accelerate the digitalization of government transactions. These steps, it argues, are essential to curbing fraud, improving revenue retention, and safeguarding public funds from further misappropriation.
The findings add renewed urgency to ongoing calls for fiscal discipline, transparency, and structural reforms aimed at stabilizing Sierra Leone’s economy and improving public trust in financial governance.
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