Gov’t Spends Millions on Inmate Upkeep
By Mariama Bundu
The 2024 Auditor General’s report examining the operations of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service has raised important concerns regarding the incarceration of minor offenders, the resulting financial burden on the State, and issues of statutory compliance in financial management.
The report indicates that in 2024 the correctional service admitted a total of 17,650 inmates for various offences. Significantly, 11,150 inmates, representing approximately 63 percent of the total, were committed for relatively minor offences such as abusive language, traffic violations, loitering, trespass, and obtaining money by false pretence.
Financially, the implications are substantial. The report states that of the NLe171.9 million expended by the State for the upkeep of inmates, approximately NLe108.3 million, equivalent to 63 percent of the total expenditure, was allocated to the maintenance of inmates detained for these minor offences.
The auditors observed that the financial burden is largely attributable to prolonged periods of incarceration, mostly where individuals remain in custody for extended durations before the conclusion of their cases.
The report also notes huge overcrowding across several correctional facilities. The Freetown Male Correctional Centre, originally designed to accommodate 324 inmates, houses approximately 1,624 inmates.
Likewise, the Female Correctional Centre at New England Ville, built to accommodate 18 inmates, holds 67 inmates. The Pre-trial Correctional Centre in Waterloo, designed for 110 inmates, houses approximately 271 inmates.
From a legal and administrative perspective, such overcrowding may raise serious concerns regarding the State’s duty of care to incarcerated persons, including obligations to ensure safe, sanitary, and humane conditions of detention. Overcrowding also heightens the risk of communicable disease outbreaks and complicates institutional management due to the limited number of correctional personnel available to maintain order and security.
In response to these findings, auditors have recommended that the Director-General of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service engage with relevant judicial stakeholders to explore reforms to remand procedures and sentencing practices.
Such reforms could contribute to reducing the number of minor offenders held in custody while simultaneously lowering the operational costs borne by the government.
In addition to concerns regarding prison management, the report identified a financial compliance issue relating to statutory tax obligations. Specifically, withholding taxes amounting to NLe1,035,578.19 were deducted from payments made to suppliers and contractors but were not remitted to the National Revenue Authority in accordance with the relevant legal provisions governing tax deductions.
The auditors warned that failure to remit such funds could result in a loss of government revenue and may constitute a breach of financial regulations.
Accordingly, it was recommended that the Senior Accountant ensure that the outstanding taxes are promptly paid to the National Revenue Authority and that verifiable documentation of the payments be submitted for audit confirmation.
