Moinina Korpoi, the Principal Accountant at the Ministry of Lands, has been penalized by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for failing to provide crucial documents during the 2022 audit.
The PAC criticized Korpoi for not supplying necessary NRA receipts, application forms, and proof of citizenship records for 400 state land transactions.
Korpoi
defended his actions by stating that he only received documents when payments
were made through bank transactions. He also mentioned that he was absent
during key periods due to preparing for his LLB exams. Despite these
explanations, he admitted to delays in responding to the auditors.
Due
to his delayed responses, the PAC invoked Section 36(1) of the Audit Service
Act and fined Korpoi SLE5,000. He explained that he had provided comprehensive
responses upon his return, but by then, the auditors had already finalized
their report, making it impossible to amend the findings.
The
PAC has instructed the Accountant General to deduct the SLE5,000 fine from
Korpoi’s account and transfer it to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This penalty
underscores the importance of timely and complete compliance with audit
requirements to ensure transparency and accountability in government
transactions.