1, This Act may be cited as the Audit Act, 1962.

Assented to in Her Majesty's name this 15th day of February, 1962. LS No. 7 INIaFRRE MAURICE H. DORMAN, MsCE Sierra Leone Governor-General. An Act to Provide for Duties and Powers of the Director of Audit, and for the Auditing of Public Accounts, and for other Purposes Incidental thereto and connected therewith 1, This Act may be cited as the Audit Act, 1962. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Date of ,1962] commence A 25 ment. Short title. A 26 Interpretation. Appoint ment of 1961. Tenure of office of Director of Audit. Cap. 173. Duties of Director of Audit. No. 7 Powers of Audit

DrectorO! oflice in accordance with the provisions of section 99 ofthe Audit, P.N, Constitution. Audit. 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires nccounting oflicer" means any oflicer charged with the duty of accounting for any service in respect of which moneys have been appropriated by the House of Represcntatives or otherwise provided by law; oflicer" mcans any person in the employment of the Government; "public moneys " includc (a) the public revenucs of Sierra Leone; (b) any trust or other noneys held, whether tempo rarily or otherwise, by any officer in his official capacity either alone or jointly with any other person whethe an officer or not.

Audit shall hold office until he attains the age of fifty-five years: Provided that he may at any time after giving siX months notice in writing addressed to the Governor-General (or such shorter period of notice as the Governor-General may accept) retire from office and be granted a pension (a) on or after attaining the age of forty-five years; (b) in the case of transfer to other public service (as defined in section 2 of the Pensions Act) on or after attaining the age at which he is permitted by the law or rules of the public service in which he is last employed to retire on pension or gratuity; or (c) if the Chief Medical Officer certifies that he is incapable by reason of any infirmity of mind or body of disçharging the duties of his office and that such infrmity is likely to be permanent.

(a) that all reasonable precautions have been taken to Safeguard the collection of public moneys and that the laws, directions or instructions relating thereto have been duly observed ; and

Director of Direçtor of Audit may (b) that all public moneys appropriated or otherwise authorised by law to be expended has been expended and supplied for the purpose or purposes for which it was intendedto provide and that the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it. (a) call upon any oficer for any explanations and information he may require in order to enable the Director of Audit to discharge his duties; No, 78 of No. 7 Audit 1962 (b) authorise any officer on his behalf to conduct any inquiry, cxamination or audit, and such officer shall report thercon to the Director of Audit : () without payment of any fee, cause search to be made in and extracts to be taken from any book, document or rccord in any public oflice; or affirmationoath, declaration (d) cxamine declaration or afirmation the (which oath, Director of Audit is hercby empowercd to admin ister) all persons whom he nay think fit to Cxamine respecting the receipt or expenditure of Jpublic moneys ot issue of stores of other property of any kind whatsocve alfccted by the provisions of this Act and respccting all other matters and things whatevcr necessary for the due perform ance and cxcrcisc of thc duties and powers vested in him ; (c) lay bcfore the Attorney-General a case in writing as to any question regarding the interpretatËon of any Act or regulation concerning the powers of the Director of Audit or the discharge of his duties, and the Attorney-General shall give a written opinion on such case. (2) In the exercise of his duties under this Act the Director of Audit or any person duly authorised thereto by him shall have access to all vouchers, cash, stamps, securities or stores and to any books, records or documents relating to any public accounts. (3) Any person examined pursuant lo the provisions of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section who gives a false answer to any question put to him or makes a false statement knowing that answer. or statement to be false or not knowing or believing it to be true shall be deemed guilty of perjury and shall be liable to be prosecuted and, on conviction, to be punished accordingly.

If at any time it appears to, the Director of Audit that Eravd'any fraud. serious loss or irregularity has occurred in the receipt, custody or expenditure of public moneys or in the receipts, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores or other Government property of any kind whatsoever, or in the accounting for the same, he shalI immediately bring the matter to the notice of the Financial Secretary. A 27

(1) Within six months after the close of each financial Annualyear, or such longer time as the House of Representatives may statementsby resolution direct, the Accountant-General shall sign and of AcCount. transmit to the Director of Audit, copies of the following annual statements (i) a general balance sheet, showing the balances of the various Funds held by Government and the Assets relating thereto, to which shall be appended a list A 28 No. 7 Repeal of Cap. 57. Audit 1962, of any assets or liabilities, contingent or actual, not reflcctcd in the balance sheet, and a detailed stato ment of the Public Dcbt and relevant Sinking Funde of Sierra Leone ; (ü) a balance slhect of the Consolidated Revenue Fund showing the opening balance of that Fund, the total withdrawals from and receipts into that Fund durino the financial year, and the balance at the end of the period, supported by detailed statements of Expendi. ture and Revenue; (ii) a balance sheet of the Development Fund showing the opening balance of that Fund, the total withdrawals from and reccipts into that Fund during the financial year and the balance at the end of the period, sUn ported by detailcd statements of Expenditure and Revcnue; (iv) a balance shcet of the Trcasury Clearance Fund of Deposits,statements supported by detailed Advances and Suspense Accounts ; (v) a balance sheet of the Personal Advances Fund showing the opening balance of that Fund, the total withdrawals from and receipts into that Fund during the financial year and the balance at the end of the (vi) a balance sheet of the Local Government Loans Fund and the Miscellaneous Loans Fund supported by detailed statements, of unredeemed loans made from those Funds; (vii) a balance sheet of the LOcal Investment Fund sup ported by a detailed statement of the investments of that Fund at the date of account; (viii) a statement of Special Funds showing the balances in those Funds at the date of account, the investments held on their behalf, and the amount of cash due to, or from, the Consolidated Revenue Fund of any over or under invested portion of such Funds; (ix) a detailed statement of loan expenditure from Loan Funds appropriated by law to specific purposes for so long as the loan remains unredeemed: (x) such other statements as the Minister responsible for Finance shall require, and the Director of Audit shall submit his reports thereon to the Minister of Finance as prescribed in subsection (3) of section 92 of the Constitution within a period of seven months after the close of the financial year to which the reports relate, or such longer period as the House of Representatives may by Resolution direct. (2) The Director of Audit may at any time, if it appears to him desirable, submit a special report in like manner on any matter incidental to the performançe of his duties.

The' Audit Act is hereby repealed.year; No. 7 Audit 1962 M.P. 14/2 /36 A 29 Passed in the House of Representatives this 12th day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and sixty-two. S. V. WRIGHT, Clerk of the House of Representatives. THIS PRINTED IMPRESSION has been carefully compared by me with the Bill which has passed the House of Representatives and found by me to be a true and correctly printed copy of the said Bill. S. V. WRIGHT, Clerk of the House of Representatives.