By Ralph Sesay
The land mark ruling yesterday by Justice Thompson of Commission 65 of the Commission of Enquiry that his Commission will conduct proceedings on the assets of the former President openly has been received with mixed feelings by members of the Sierra Leonean society.
Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice representing former President Koroma at the Commission of Enquiry, had applied on Monday before Justice Thompson that proceedings into the assets of former President be done behind closed doors.
Many people while reacting to the ruling have maintained that Justice Thompson’s ruling is supported by current trends across the globe and also by the fact that the rights of the citizens in knowing how their leaders have managed resources entrusted to them by the people is critical and fundamental.
It was also established that the efforts by the current government to promote transparency and accountability in the midst of corruption and mismanagement of the state resources, is laudable.
The very high bar set by the New Direction Government is a pointer to the fact that members of the current regime will also face the long arm of the law should they fall foul in terms of managing the resources and also taking critical decisions as they steer the respective MDAs on behalf of the people.
The Commission of Enquiry has revealed a lot about the rate at which politicians especially those who served in the Koroma Government, have mismanaged the resources of the state and also took decisions that are not guided by established rules and procedures.
Evidence has shown that state resources have been lavished and a lot of procurement processes have been breached in the awarding of very expensive contracts.
The Commission has been able to effectively use critical state agencies such as the ACC, FIU, Office of Administrator General, Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority and the Corporate Affairs Commission to expose the uncovered assets of people who served in Koroma’s Government.
Most of the assets are far above the earnings of these state officials which is an offence in the ACC Act.
The initiative of utilizing critical state institutions in uncovering information around the corrupt acquisition of wealth is new and laudable and brings to speed the role of the institutions in fighting graft and promoting accountability and transparency.
This is sending a message that there will be no hiding place in the Bio Government for whosoever is found wanting of corruption and other corruption related matters.
The state structures in terms of the various agencies providing information around transparency and accountability will always be there in the country to expose whatever wrongdoings that would be exhibited by officials of the current administration.
The passage of obnoxious laws that are very much inimical to the economic development of the state will not save officials of the current regime largely because they have set a very dangerous precedent that will now be utilized moving forward.
We do not expect subsequent government to lower this bar at any time again in our history.
Corruption has at the center in the retrogression of Sierra Leone and its high time now that we move on to eliminate it in our ranks so that the provision of basic social services for our people will take precedence against thieving.
The New Direction Government is digging its own grave in that they are introducing stringent and robust reforms that are not in way in tune with the way its officials are carrying themselves.
The current hype in accelerating the transparency and accountability lens in terms of managing state resources and other governance issues is phenomenal as far as the New Direction regime is concerned.
People serving in this government should be aware that they require a lot more in terms of integrity not to be caught up in the current web of transparency and accountability that has been created by government.
Hello, is somebody listening.