Finance Ministry Vets University Payroll

Verification exercise of the University of Sierra Leone's payroll data

By Sylvester Samba

The Government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, has for the first time in the country's history, taken responsibility for the payment of salaries and core allowances of the three constituent colleges of the University of Sierra Leone and five original Tertiary Educational Institutions (TEIs).

A press release from the Ministry of Finance, they will be paid as public sector wages paid by the government. "This will increase the average monthly wage bill by Le14.85 billion," the Ministry noted.

Out of 976 employees at the University of Sierra Leone, 911 employees were verified (with no issues) and, the Ministry of Finance has taken immediate steps to pay those 911 employees the amount of Le8.53 billion for July and August 2019. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the National Civil Registration Authority, concluded a further verification exercise on the 15th August 2019.

The government and five Tertiary Educational Institutions recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on, among other things, periodically verifying biometric payroll data including employees of those institutions into the Centralized Government Payroll System of the Accountant General’s Department.

The five institutions were Njala University, Ernest Bai Koroma University, Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, Eastern Polytechnic, Freetown Teachers College, and Bonthe Technical College. The objective of the MoU was to ensure the timely payment of monthly salaries and core allowances for both academic and administrative staff.

“For July 2019, the government paid the amount of Le10.58 billion directly into the bank accounts of 1,857 staff members of the five Tertiary Educational Institutions that signed the MoU”

The University of Sierra Leone (FBC, COMAHS, IPAM), however, was not one of the TEIs that signed the original MoU, adding that the University of Sierra Leone had delayed in submitting its payroll data.

Inconsistencies in the payroll data submitted also included special allowances not covered under the MoU.