By Fatou Sillah
A special audit of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation has found that board members received D5.398 million in duplicate payments over a 30-month period, raising serious concerns about compliance with corporate governance rules for state-owned enterprises.
The audit, which covered January 2022 through June 2024, was presented to the Public Enterprise Committee of the National Assembly. It concluded that board members were paid both monthly allowances and sitting allowances concurrently—payments that auditors said were not clearly authorized and contravened the Code of Corporate Governance for state-owned enterprises.
According to the report, monthly and sitting allowances, which are ordinarily reserved for the board chairman and the managing director, were extended to board members at the same time. Auditors said interviews with the managing director, the board secretary and the board chairman confirmed that the payments were made, and that the officials acknowledged they were unaware that receiving both allowances simultaneously violated governance rules.
The audit warned that the dual payments resulted in unnecessary financial outflows, reducing funds available for the corporation’s operational priorities.
“Dual payment to board members constitutes a violation of the Code of Corporate Governance and has resulted in unnecessary financial outflows,” the report said.
Auditors recommended that the managing director and the board chairman take immediate steps to recover the payments and introduce a training program to ensure that board members and senior management understand the financial and governance regulations governing state-owned enterprises.
In its response, management said that sitting allowances are paid only for extraordinary meetings and are limited to committee members and invited officers participating in subcommittee sessions. This practice, management said, “aligns with best corporate governance standards.”
Management also told auditors that a formal board charter would be developed to clarify meeting schedules, the payment of allowances and other operational matters. The charter is expected to be approved by the line ministry and implemented by July 2025, with oversight assigned to the Director of Corporate Affairs and the Director of Human Resources and Administration.
The audit acknowledged that some elements of the payment structure may reflect past practices but said the duplicate disbursements—amounting to roughly D5.4 million—remain a serious governance breach. Auditors urged immediate corrective action to bring the corporation into compliance with the 2022 Code of Good Corporate Governance for state-owned enterprises.
The report further noted that during a meeting on March 3, 2025, involving the audit team, the National Audit Office and the corporation’s management, officials agreed to discontinue sitting, emergency and other allowances for board members while maintaining monthly allowances. However, auditors said that by the time the report was finalized, the recovery of the duplicate payments had yet to be completed.
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