The Government of President Julius Maada Bio must, as a matter of urgency, halt the messy situation surrounding the auctioning of over 400 containers and over 200 cars of different models at the Freetown terminal.
Officials at the Ministry of Finance are currently superintending a criminal enterprise aided by the National Revenue Authority at Water Quay and the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Port Authority Board, Mr. Manso Dumbuya, in overseeing a highly improperly constituted and corrupt auctioneering process.
Inside sources at the SLPA, who are not happy with what is going on at the auction process, have intimated this medium that the new government has inherited quite substantial amount of containers on demurrage, amounting to over 400 and including very expensive cars.
The previous APC regime, according to reports, had not engaged in auction activities for the last year leading to the elections.
The current lopsided auction process led by the Ministry of Finance have bypassed the due process and also eliminated the relevant state authorities whose business it is to conduct auctioneering process at the Quay.
We challenge the NRA to show documentation for all the goods put on demurrage by the port and currently leaving the Quay in a clandestine and shady manner. Nightwatch is in possession of the full details of the demurrage list as presented by the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Port Authority to the necessary authorities.
The Chairman of the Sierra Leone Port Authority Board of Directors, Manso Dumbuya, has been accused of also aiding the improper disposal of government property on demurrage.He has failed to provide the leadership to manage the day-to-day activities of the Port and also protect government property.
Some officials of the Port Management, who spoke to this medium on condition of anonymity, noted that the management cadre at the Port has nothing to do with what he referred to as the current mess at the port with regards the auction process. They have however vowed to provide full details to the ACC on the full list of all the assets that were put on demurrage and currently under the auspices of the auction committee.
Close sources at the Quay have disclosed that certain individuals who are part of the criminal enterprise are smuggling the goods on demurrage including cars out of the Quay at night with the connivance of the Sierra Leone Police deployed around the precincts of the quay.
A close source at the Ministries of Education and Health have also expressed their frustration at the defiance of the Ministry of Finance officials and the team of auctioneers to release some of the containers on demurrage, which had drugs and educational materials to support their various ministries .
Goods on demurrage are by law the property of government and why should government officials should prevent government from benefitting from such properties?
It will be recalled that the Speaker of the House of Parliament, Dr Abass Bundu, has, in a letter dated 28th December, 2018, instructed the Commissioner of the National Government Assets and Property Commission to ensure that he closely takes the lead in the auctioning process involving over 97 containers as advised by the General Manager of the Port Authority.
The Speaker’s letter was against the backdrop that the Ministry of Finance has solely constituted a 12 man auction committee without reference to the Assets Commissioner and the supervisory committee in Parliament.
Dr Abass Bundu has, in his December 28th letter, warned the Assets Commissioner to ensure that the entire process, which falls under his mandate, is handled efficiently pursuant to section 5 (3) of the 1990 Statutory National Government Property Act, which states, among other things, that the disposal of government property remains the sole authority of the NGPAC.
The New Direction Government, which has campaigned on change in terms of following due process, is now increasingly caught in a web of constitutional violations and lack of respect for due process.
We will in subsequent editions expose certain documents and very notable individuals aiding the criminal enterprise but it is in the best interest of the government and the ACC to look into the current auctioneering process with the view to write the wrongs.
Gbashi Gbashi seems to be the order of the day at the auction process rather than having an organized system in place which should protect government property day in day out people are enriching themselves.