Lara Tayor-Pearce is the Auditor General of Sierra Leone.
To ensure accountability, Taylor-Pearce decided
to allow the public access to the annual audit reports and in the process handed Sierra Leone’s citizens the power of public scrutiny.
They have used it to save lives, reverse injustices and prevent misplaced trust.
We should continue to ask for answers to the queries raised in the audit reports, but this shouldn’t be the extent of our aims.
The governance culture we really need is one that welcomes effective scrutiny and accountability, as a way for communities and decision-makers to work together on improving public service delivery.
Lara Taylor-Pearce’s vision of a public audit office that is allowed to do its work with the committed support of Parliament is a vitally important step towards achieving that goal.
As Auditor General, she shows us the possibilities of good governance in Sierra Leone. To achieve them, we have to start playing by the rules. All of us, without fear or favor.
