Title: Evaluating Management Support to the Internal Audit System in Bo District Council, Sierra Leone

Authors:  Sualiho Sheriff

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Abstract^/Summary

One of the daunting challenges facing the effective operations of Local Councils in Sierra Leone, particularly the Bo District Council is the quality of support services that drive accountability in the use of scarce financial resources. It is on this note that the study is intended to assess management supports towards the internal audit system. The study was conducted in Bo District Council located in the Southern Region of Sierra Leone. Bo District Council consists of 16 Chiefdoms, 25 Councilors, 3 Paramount Chiefs, 25 Wards, 16 Committees, 11 Constituencies, and 13 Core Staff Members. The secondary objectives were: 1) to assess the level of respondents’ perceptions on management support to the internal audit system; 2) to identify the scale of management support to the internal audit effectiveness, and 3) to establish the relationship between management support and internal audit effectiveness. The instruments employed for data collection include: questionnaires and documentary analysis. The sample population of the study is thirteen (13) core staff members that represents the sample size of the study, and includes all the departments and units of the Bo District Council. The 13 core staff members were selected by stratified sampling selection technique. The study employed descriptive design and results discussed in qualitative and quantitative methods. The reliability test was conducted 0.765 using the Crumb Alpha Test and was considered valid. The key findings of the study include: Lack of full support to the audit committee; lack of independence of the internal audit system; insufficient allocation of budget. It is recommended that the Local Service Commission should let the internal audit system being independent by creating a directorate of the internal audit department.

Title: Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants utilized by forest edge communities in southern Sierra Leone

Authors: Jonathan Johnny^1*, Aiah Lebbie² and Richard Wadsworth²

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Abstract^/Summary

A total of 128 medicinal plant species belonging to 71 genera and 46 families were identified and used to treat 42 human ailments. Euphorbiaceae was the leading family with 14 species, followed by Rubiaceae and Leg-Caesalpiniaceae with 12 and 8 species, respectively. Seven species (Coffea stenophylla, Garcinia afzelii, Mitragyna stipulosa, Irvingia gabonensis, Milicia regia, Nauclea diderrichii and Nesogordonia papaverifera) are of conservation concern. Herbs are the highest followed by shrubs, trees, climbers and epiphytes. Leaves are the most used parts, followed by roots, fruits, stems, flowers, nuts, tubers and seeds. The highest calculated Relative Frequency of Citations Index (RFC) was for Musa sapientum, followed by Zingiber officinale, Anisophyllea laurina, Cola nitida, Nauclea latifolia, Tetracera potatoria Allophylus africanus, Cassia sieberiana and Termitomyces microcarpus. The highest Use Value index (UV) was calculated for Cola nitida (1.9) followed by Nauclea latifolia (1.56), Zingiber officinale (1.55) Ficus exasperata and Tetracera potatoria (1.44) respectively. Medicinal plants knowledge is strongly associated with the elderly in secret societies which are structured along gender lines. Plant use for medicinal reason actually addresses a significant part of the way of life and customs of the people living in this area and other rural locations in Sierra Leone.