New Auditor-General Appointed in Sierra Leone Amid Governance Scrutiny

Freetown, Sierra Leone – As Sierra Leone prepares to celebrate its 64th Independence Day, the Office of the Press Secretary has announced the appointment of Mr. Abdul Aziz as the new Auditor-General, effective Thursday, July 3, 2025. The announcement, made by Yusuf Keketoma Sandi, Press Secretary to the President, cites Section 119(1) of the 1991 Constitution and follows the Public Service Commission’s approval. This move comes at a critical juncture for the West African nation, where public financial oversight remains under intense scrutiny.

The Auditor-General plays a pivotal role in ensuring accountability, tasked with auditing government institutions and entities handling public funds, as mandated by the Audit Service Act of 2014 and the Public Financial Management Act of 2016. The appointment follows a challenging period, highlighted by the 2023 Auditor-General’s report, which flagged $17 million in unaccounted government funds, according to the Audit Service Sierra Leone’s official records. This backdrop has fueled public demand for stronger governance, especially as the World Bank’s 2024 data notes that only 34% of financial audits in the past decade have led to prosecutions.

Reactions on social media reflect a mix of skepticism and hope. Some citizens questioned the appointment’s urgency, while others criticized it as a potential political maneuver amid unresolved corruption cases, including the ongoing $720,000 probe into the Sierra Leone Football Federation reported by Newscentral Africa on April 5, 2025. A 2021 Afrobarometer survey further underscores this distrust, with 72% of Sierra Leoneans expressing skepticism toward government financial oversight.

The timing of the announcement, just hours before Independence Day, may be an attempt to project a renewed commitment to transparency under the SLPP government. However, historical challenges persist, with weak anti-corruption mechanisms often undermining such efforts. As Mr. Aziz steps into this role, his ability to address these longstanding issues will be closely watched, both by the public and international observers, as Sierra Leone seeks to strengthen its democratic institutions.