Following the removal of the suspended Auditor- General, Mrs. Lara Taylor and her Deputy, Tamba Momoh by the Sixth Parliament showed that the opposition party in Parliament was dead.
An opposition party is supposed to stand tall in defense of democracy and transparent governance and to speak on behalf of the masses, but as far the current Parliament is concerned, this appears far-fetched.
It could be recalled that on Friday, 20th December, 2024, Parliament voted by a two-thirds majority to officially dismiss the Auditor-General and the Deputy.
Out of 137 Members of Parliament who were present in the Well during the procedure, 100 voted on behalf of the ruling party thereby endorsing the official removal of the two auditors, while 36 opposition MPs voted against the move. This move marks a significant but controversial issue in the country’s current governance system.
It was also revealed that of the 137 MPs who were present on the said day, eight of the opposition MPs switched off to vote alongside the ruling party MPs to secure the required two-thirds vote necessary to effect the parliamentary endorsement of the auditors removal from office.
Prior to the voting, the Clerk of Parliament, Hon. Umar Paran Tarawallie read a message from President Bio encouraging and drawing the attention of both the ruling and opposition Members of Parliament to consider the recommendations of the Special Tribunal report, which related to the removal of the Auditor-General and her Deputy.
It is clear that an opposition’s main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public.
By so doing, it will help to fix the mistakes of the ruling party, this is not happening in the Sixth Parliament.
Equally, an opposition is responsible in upholding the best interests of the people of the country, but the opposition parties in the Sixth Parliament it has always be the opposite or otherwise which is a clear sign that there is no opposition in Parliament.
If really there is an opposition party certain bad laws that have been enacted by the ruling party would not have seen the light of day. In addition, certain obnoxious laws have been passed into law in Parliament as if there is no opposition.
The findings of the Special Tribunal report states that there were allegations of professional misconduct by the Auditor-General and the Deputy.
On the other the hand, the Institute of Charter Auditors has urged that the Auditor-General and her duty didn’t do anything outside their limits or functions. During the hearings of the Special Tribunal, it was discovered that the receipts which were tendered were forged.
In addition, many independent institutions that reviewed the matter found no evidence of professional misconduct by Taylor-Pearce and Momoh.
The removal of the Auditor-General and her Deputy by the ruling SLPP party led by President Bio has set a dangerous precedent, undermining the independence of accountability institutions.
During the voting on Friday, 20th December 2024, the Speaker of Parliament ruled that a two-thirds majority would be determined by the total number of members present in Parliament at the time of the vote, rather than the total number of members of Parliament.
The Speaker’s decision was sharply criticized on grounds that it will set an unprecedented and a dangerous precedent. Such an action has never been a circumstance in the past where two-thirds is calculated based only on members present in Parliament.
A political commentator, name withheld, has argued that such a decision by the legislative arm of government has undermined the integrity of Sierra Leone’s democratic institutions.
There is no gainsaying that Mrs. Taylor-Pearce, who had been widely recognized for her role in promoting transparency and accountability, leaves behind a legacy that many fear, will be tainted by what they view as a politically motivated decision.
It could be recalled that President Bio established the Special Tribunal to investigate Auditor- General Taylor-Pearce amid accusations of witch-hunt and cover-up on November 17th, 2021.
Sadly, it is clear that the two other arms of government, the legislative and judiciary are always yes-men to President Bio.
The judiciary and legislative arms are seemed as auxiliaries, shaped and deployed to play second fiddle to the executive under the ruling party.