By Crispina Lois Cummings
The parliamentary oversight committee on finance and development last week engaged school authorities in Moyamba and Bo districts on the financial management of schools. Addressing schools administrators, the chairman of the committee, Hassan Sheriff, MP, said that many schools were going against role and responsibility for which they were established. He drew their attention to the Audit Service report of 2011 which he said showed that many school authorities were found wanting for misappropriation of funds, lack of accountability and transparency and the absence of proper record-keeping. The committee therefore urged the school authorities to put their houses in order to avoid another audit service report that would found them wanting for misappropriation of funds and poor record keeping. The schools that faced the committee included the Harford School, St. Michael’s Secondary School and Ahmadiyya Junior in Moyamba, as well as Bo Commercial Secondary School and the Bonthe Secondary School. The finance committee said that during their investigations, the schools had no proper accountability mechanism for funds given to them by the local councils. The chairman and his team warned the school administrators of stringent action should they be found wanting again in any subsequent audit or other reports. © Politico 23/07/13
