By Lawrence Williams
The 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report (FTR) released on Monday by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs found that the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) “did not meet international standards of independence.” Sierra Leone was listed among countries that failed to meet the “minimum fiscal transparency requirements,” and made “no significant progress” toward meeting those requirements during the review period of January 1 to December 31, 2024.
Although the ASSL continues to conduct annual audits of government accounts, the report suggests that the institution lacks “financial and managerial autonomy.”
The report further highlighted that the government does not abide by the legal requirements in awarding contracts and licenses for natural resource extraction, and information on public procurement contracts are not “accessible” to the public.
“The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence, but it retained the ability to review the government’s accounts and make key reports publicly available. The government specified in law or regulation, but did not appear to follow in practice, the criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction licenses and contracts. It did not publicize accessible information on public procurement contracts,” the report stated.
On a more positive note, the FTR acknowledged that budget documents and debt information – including obligations of major state-owned enterprises – were accessible to the public, and the military budget was subjected to parliamentary oversight.
The FTR is a U.S. Congressional tool for evaluating fiscal transparency in about 140 governments worldwide that receive U.S. assistance. The 2025 edition assessed countries based on their disclosure of key budget documents, the independence and effectiveness of supreme audit institutions, their access to audit government financial statements, and public availability of such reports, as well as the transparency of natural resource licensing and public procurement contracts.
