In his address during the launch of the defunct Commissions Of Inquiry (COI), President Julius Maada said the Biobele COI would be the last in Sierra Leone. The statement provoked the thought of Sierra Leoneans as to the statement’s exact meaning.
The presidential pronouncement also became one of the hottest topics for discussions among Sierra Leoneans. One of the overriding interpretations of the President’s statements was that there would not be another commission of inquiry because the President would lead a clean public life. It is also expected that he would encourage his ministers and other top government officials to live a life that is completely free from corruption.
Initially, President Bio adopted stringent measures that portrayed his government as a corrupt-free one.
The establishment of the single treasury account, and effort to downsize the number of public and civil servants was seen as encouraging. Immediately the President took over governance of the state, a large number of government officials were relieved of their duties including diplomats and other principal representatives abroad.
The President’s move was seen by many as a way to cut down on public expenditure, and save the country’s finances. Former government officials who borrowed money from the Sierra Leone Commercial (Government’s bank) were compelled and harassed to pay back.
Government said the chase of the officials was about taking back state money.
Other senior government officials suspected or accused of corruption were immediately arrested and detained. Through harassment and threats of incarceration, they paid back to the state coffers.
Head of Anti-corruption Commission, Joseph Ben Kaifala, has on several occasions, handed over cheques of billions of Leones to the President. The Commissioner always says the money is stolen money recovered from corrupt politicians of the former government.
Effort at taking back government money was widely commended by Sierra Leoneans as they see the New Direction government as one that is acting in the interest of the state. Just two years in governance, the New Direction Government is battling with some of the worst allegations of corruption in modern history.
An Insider source within the SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) has told this press that President Julius Maada Bio would surely face a commission of inquiry when he shall have left power. The source believed that the President would be brought in for corruption offences and killings currently taking place in his government.
Although the source could not show whether President Bio would leave power in 2023, he was quite hopeful that there must be a number of corruption trials.
The source’s claims of corruption and killings occurring under the watch of President Julius Maada Bio are water-tight. A number of reports that came out quite recently lend credence to the source’s claim of another Commissions of Inquiry. Important agencies in the government of President Bio recently came under the spotlight for corruption following publications made by a consortium of civil society organisations: Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, Christian Aid and Restless Development.
The study was sponsored by Department For International Development, one of Sierra Leone’s key funders. The report that came out of the study was a complete disfavour to the government.
The law-making institution, parliament was tagged as the third most corrupt closely followed by the country’s principal law enforcement agency, the Sierra Leone Police.
Afro-Barometre, a continental agency on governance and corruption also conducted another study that accused Office of the President as one of the most corrupt. The report was seriously contested by government officials who said Office of the President did not refer only to State House.
They argued that many offices are under the supervision of the President. Apart from the many publications of corruption against the New Direction Government by rights organisation, the reports of a media-based agency, Africanist Press have been the most damaging.
Africanist Press publications recently took on the Office of the Chief Minister for corruption on a grand scale. The US-based agency accused the Chief Minister of illegal withdrawals, and unjustifiable public expenditure.
Professor Francis, one of the ardent architects of the Biobele Commissions of Inquiry was said to have stashed away billons of Leones from the Consolidated Fund.
The billions were allegedly spent public on relations and media consultancies to create a good image for the New Direction Government.
In subsequent publications, Prof Francis was also accused of spending billions of Leones to procure furniture for his office. The reports note that all these monies were not properly accounted.
The red flag on sky-rocketed corruption in the government has been raised.
Besides, Office of the First Lady was also recently accused of corruption, and is being investigated by the country’s anti-graft agency. None of these allegations have been successfully challenged by a government official.
Several killings have also taken place under the Bio administration, and arguments are rife that the killers would not go free regardless of their status. The combined effect of the sad and tragic occurrences in the Bio administration made the argument for the last commission of inquiry untenable.
Sierra Leone waits to see the end game.