The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through its former Director General Alhasan Kondeh is implicated in complicity after denying Mr. Paul M.E.Kamara Sierra Leone Former Financial Attache to the Sierra Leone Embassy in Washington D.C., United States of America his entitlements.
Mr. Kamara served the Embassy between June, 2011 to September, 2018 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs owed him his outstanding payment and refund of School Fees for his only dependent child (Melvin Paul Kamara) to the tune of Twenty Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty Three United States Dollars ($ 22,433.00)
A correspondence dated 16th September, 2019 by Mr. Kamara addressed to the Anti Corruption and the Ombudsman Office has requested both institutions to protect him and ensure that all his entitlements are paid by the Ministry.
He was able to pinpoint to both institutions (Ombudsman and ACC) that he had personally raised the red flag on certain financial misappropriations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during his tenure as Financial Attache in Washington DC.
Mr. Kamara specifically indicated in his letter that he is being deprived of his entitlements by the Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alhassan Kondeh for having blown the whistle and raising the red flag for practices considered as indecorous to Sierra Leone Financial Management Regulations overseas by the Ministry.
Mr.Kamara has went on to expose a number of shady deals at the Washington DC Embassy in the United States such as the payment of salaries for individuals who have been recalled from the Embassy to the tune of thousands of dollars.
He had cited one Mr. Joseph Thornton, Former Director of Finance and Administration at the Washington DC Embassy as one of those individuals who have benefitted from such a scam.
His correspondence has also exposed the double payment of medical insurance for Alhassan Kondeh while serving at Washington DC but later relocated to New York.
The said official he went on later became Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This according to him was where the problem of him not been paid his entitlements started.
While the former Financial Attache is requesting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pay him his entitlements he was also making it clear to the ACC to investigate these financial anomalies at our Foreign Embassy in Washington DC.
He has also made it clear to both the Ombudsman and the ACC that the Director General of Foreign Affairs,Alhassan Kondeh was after him just because he has raised the red flag on a number of financial impropriety which he has superintended over whiles working abroad .
The ACC since 2009 has failed to act to address these anomalies against Alhassan Kondeh.
We are reliably informed that a week ago the ACC has now assigned the matter to an investigator.
The Office of the Ombudsman unlike the ACC under the no nonsense Leon-Jenkins Johnston has made frantic efforts to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Director General, Alhassan Kondeh to understand that Mr.Paul Kamara is entitled to the payment of the Twenty-Two Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty Three United States Dollars ( $ 22,433,00).
The Ministry has maintained otherwise and the Ombudsman in their most recent correspondence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has threatened to bring the matter to the attention of His Excellency the President as stipulated in their Act should the Ministry further renege on their obligations to pay Mr.Kamara.
The Accountant General,the Director General Human Resource Management Office have all advised the Director General,Alhassan Kondeh to pay all the entitlements due Mr.Kamara.
A Correspondence from the Acting Director General ,Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 20th January ,2020 addressed to the Ombudsman has however noted that should Mr.Kamara be able to produce all the necessary approvals from the Ministry with regards the various entitlements for his son they will be more than happy to forward same to the Accountant General’s Department for Payment.
Many have wondered why the ACC has dragged its feet to act on a very sensitive matter like this when they have always maintained that they will ensure that whistle blowers are protected.
The case of Mr.Paul Kamara, Sierra Leone Former Press Attache to Washington DC who had raised the red flag on corrupt practices at our foreign embassies abroad was a clear case where the ACC should have come in to protect the former diplomat.
But as it stands, Mr.Kamara is now a victim who is been denied his entitlements just because he has raised the red flag on corruption.
The Ministry has remained recalcitrant even when the Ombudsman has written severally to recommend that Mr. Paul Kamara is fully entitled to his money and should be paid.
This state of affairs has continued to expose the state of affairs at our various Ministries.
The ACC has failed to prosecute a whole matter involving a former High Commissioner just because it lacked the evidential threshold to charge the matter even after all fingers had pointed out that the High Commissioner had left his duty post and was equally enjoying all his emoluments as a High Commissioner.
The ACC investigations had also indicated that after series of interviews with high profile executives of the Ministry if Foreign Affairs they were dismayed that our foreign service lacked standards and systems to record absenteeism and other administrative related issues.
It is our hope that the ACC investigations which have commenced a week ago will be expedited to give Mr.Paul Kamara justice.