A staggering amount of Le7.4 billion, generated from e-visa issuances by Securiport, has been flagged as unaccounted for by auditors from the Audit Service Sierra Leone. The investigation revealed significant lapses in the financial oversight of e-visa transactions, as the revenue collected from these digital visas was not properly recorded.
In their review, auditors examined printouts from Securiport, which indicated that 4,827 e-visas were issued in 2023. However, the absence of escrow bank statements and a cashbook made it nearly impossible to ascertain the total revenue generated from these transactions. Attempts to verify the number of e-visas issued through the Immigration Department were met with frustration, as the department failed to provide the necessary documentation for audit inspection.
In light of these discrepancies, auditors have issued several recommendations. They have called on the Chief Immigration Officer to submit the relevant documents to rectify the identified anomalies. Additionally, the Sierra Leone Immigration Department (SLID) has been urged to establish and maintain comprehensive records of processed e-visas. This would enable accurate reconciliations with Securiport’s data and facilitate better revenue estimations in the future.
The lack of control surrounding the issuance of e-visas is alarming. The Immigration Department’s failure to provide independent verification of the number of e-visas approved for issuance has made it exceedingly difficult for the audit team to confirm the figures for 2023. Consequently, this issue remains unresolved.
While management has claimed that NLe7,434,387 was deposited into the Consolidated Fund, the absence of supporting bank statements and cashbook records has left the auditors unable to verify this payment. As a result, the concerns regarding the unaccounted e-visa revenue persist, highlighting a critical need for improved financial oversight and accountability within the system.
