Audit director criticised for overlooking past reports in BCC’s audit investigation

Appointed as BCC’s Director of Internal Audit on May 1, 2023, Sawaneh officially took over from former Acting Director Abdoulie J. Corr, receiving a formal handover note on June 8, 2023.

During his testimony before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI), Sawaneh admitted that he had not reviewed past audit reports, deeming them irrelevant to him.

The Commission had made an application to BCC for the provision of eight audit findings reports following the testimony of former Director of Internal Audit Abdoulie J. Corr, who stated that he had prepared eight findings reports but was unable to access them because he had left them in the audit files at the council.

Despite the Commission’s order, Sawaneh appeared before the Commission with only three out of the eight reports. Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez requested that he produce the audit files alongside key financial documents, including budget estimates from 2020 to 2023, income statements, and financial records.

Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez warned the witness that the Commission was aware of the number of audit reports and cautioned him that he could not submit fewer than required.

“You brought three, but there are more outstanding ones,” Gomez said.

Gomez then applied to the Commission to order the witness to provide all the reports by the following day. The application was subsequently granted.

When questioned by Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez about his decision to ignore past reports, Sawaneh defended his stance, stating that he was focused on moving forward rather than revisiting previous audits. His response drew sharp criticism from Gomez, who challenged his competence.

"It means you are not competent. You should be interested in how the institution was managed," Gomez told him.

Sawaneh further admitted that he had never examined past reports and was unaware of the total number available.

When asked about the reports he had prepared since taking over, the witness said he had prepared four reports, one of which was yet to be concluded. He was ordered to bring the reports he had prepared.

Commissioner Oreme J. Joiner asked the witness whether he had taken note of past audit reports, especially regarding issues that were supposed to be corrected. The witness admitted that he had not read the reports, adding that he had only conducted his own comprehensive review to understand the institution.

Commissioner Joiner pointed out that his duty was to take note of the findings and ensure that those matters were addressed.

Joiner emphasised that issues contained in previous reports had not been addressed and that it was Sawaneh’s responsibility to do so. He asserted that in order to understand what had happened, Sawaneh should have referred to the audit reports under his custody before embarking on any new reviews.

Joiner stressed that the audit reports should have been his baseline.

“You did not look at the baseline,” Joiner said.

“Yes, you are right,” the witness replied.