By Yusif Moijuah
The Chief of Executive Officer of the Republic of Sierra Leone must be highly commended for starting the year with very vibrant moves in our national campaigns against corruption.
Although it is widely seen as deceitful and frustrating that President Julius Maada Bio is still badly taming some sacred cows at Forth Thornton, who are bent on constantly undermining the Bio led government’s efforts in the fight against corruption.
The former Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, until his relief of his duty, served as Minister of Labour and Social Security. Alpha Osman Timbo, his then deputy, Mrs. Emily Kadiatu Gogra, the ministry’s permanent secretary Charles Kamanda and the director of nutrition Mamusu Massaquoi were removed from their offices for alleged “improper activities relating to huge quantity of rice donated to the government of Sierra Leone by the Government of the People’s Republic of China,” has been viewed as a strong action on corruption.
However, doubtful questions are still being directed at government as to why the Clerk of Sierra Leone Parliament, Hon. Umar Paran Tarawalie, the Chief Minister, Prof. David John Francis are still occupying their offices under the watchful eye of president Bio and the whole world? These are some of the critical but legitimate concerns the public expect the CEO, president Bio to answer. They also want to see the president’s answer backed by firm actions without delays. The firm actions would be seen as a great manifestation of seriousness on Bio’s fight against graft. It also believed if that once the stringent measure is taken against the CM, his administration’s effort in the fight against corruption would be considered a ‘sober.’
Confidence and credibility models of governance requires the president to relieve the Clerk of Parliament, Hon. Paran Tarawalie and Chief Minister, David Francis of their duties to earn the President’s administration some amount of respectability, before dashing into your rush sackings of top education officials.
News of alleged corrupt practices in a poorly penned press release from State House was received with mixed feelings amidst reactions and counter-reactions on traditional and new media platforms. The public is being left with wonders whether president Bio’s charms on corruption are working effectively in the national interest. Most Sierra Leoneans, opines that the President’s move in relieving the President’s move the Labour and education officials is selective or tribally prejudiced especially when the highest office in the land continues to house and protect giant corrupt officials to the pinnacle of governance. Anti-Corruption Commissioner, ACC’s Francis Ben Kaifala can hardly touch the president’s blue-eye boys. It’s unimaginable to see high levels of corruption in a government that campaigned on the platforms of fighting graft. What remained much fresh in the minds of the public is that it was the same Office of the President at State House that instituted a “politically motivated” commissions of inquiry against past government officials for alleged misuse of public funds, on regional, ethnic and political hate hiding in the cloak of democratic accountability and financial prudence. Barely a year and months down the line, the rest of the accusing fingers are today pointing back at the very CEO Bio and some members of his team who have been everywhere brainwashing the nation with cheap lies about misappropriation public funds by his predecessors and the last administration.
What President Bio should note here is that, anti-corruption crusades are hard political and administrative battles that you can’t easily downplay especially when he is on record for registering very strong commitments to the corruption war. The world and development partners watch closely the fight against graft with the notion that no matter what it takes the President to go through. They are of the strong view that mitigating corruption in Sierra Leone can restore the country’s enviable past glories with high level of confidence in state governance and credibility to the international systems once more.
So much as it is not clear as to whether the donation in question was actually meant for your government’s free education school feeding programmes, you must bow your head a bit and watch beneath your feet at State House and reinstruct the ACC to review investigations into outstanding allegations of over $1m money laundry amongst several others against Sierra Leone’s only 21st Century Prime-Chief Minister; the almighty Professor David John Francis, the son of former All People’s Congress APC’s J. B. Francis of blessed memories. The alleged financial misappropriations by the Clerk of Parliament Hon. Tarawalie and hosts of other probing precedents can take effect by starting with, in the first place sacking Chief Minister Prof. Francis from the Office of the President, the Clerk of the House of Parliament as prescribed by law to allow impartial investigations by the ACC rather than just ignoring them to continue to mess the system at the very detriment of your hard-earned reputation and the entire government with no exception of your failed SLPP regime. All of those outstanding alleged corruption allegations must be properly investigated without government’s interferences.
The role of Prof. Francis in cementing the academic excellence of president Bio is unarguably recognized across the political and academic spectrums of Sierra Leone and beyond, which does not mean that Chief Executive Officer, president Bio should not be seen impartially casting potent charms on corruption, particularly in his office at State House. So, more actions needed president Bio. March your words with firmer actions Mr. President for we are still religiously reading your unfulfilled presidential campaign new direction manifesto page after the other.
Although the 10th January action is not really new in modern governance and policy formulations, yet it is in the right direction as far as the anti-graft fights are concerned. Relieving senior government officials at the level of cabinet ministers for allegedly involving in corrupt practices is a sound testament of our high growth in mitigating corruption. In that direction, leave no stone unturned Mr. President, if you really mean business so that your regime can continue to expose the real and true corrupt public and private officials in both sectors under your watchful eyes, otherwise your efforts can be consider as selective if certain people are still hiding under your canopy at State House.
It is an open secret with proven researches beyond doubts that corruption at high places have, over the years, destroyed and is still destroying the fabrics of Sierra Leone and other countries in the world. Corruption is derailing ambitious national development agendas in their entirety, as in the cases of the latest ACC suspects presently under the spotlight helping the anti-graft commission with their investigations. The investigations are linked to an alleged “improper activities” relating to huge quantity of rice doled to Sierra Leoneans by the government of the People’s Republic of China.
Therefore, government’s timely actions in probing the former Minister of Basic Education and his Deputies then, honourable Alpha Osman Timbo, Emily Kadiatu Gogra, permanent secretary Charles Kamanda and the Director of Nutrition, Mamusu Massquoi who allegedly collectively conspired against the state of over 7,000,000 Sierra Leoneans by diverting the PRC rice gift to something else that could be hardly traced is commendable. These people, if found wanton, for their selfish actions against the government and people of Sierra Leone should face the full penalty of the law, and should be restrained for life from holding public offices. It had been done by the previous administration of late President Kabbah in the case of former Minister of Agriculture, Harry Will and Prince Harding. The practice was also adopted by former president Koroma. Although he recycled most of his close friends, he actually sacked most of the corrupt members of his past APC government the same way president Bio did, last year, when he recycled former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Alie Kabba to serve as Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations. The academic doctor was recycled from a minister to a permanent representative following several allegations of misappropriating huge amount of funds from the PRC government on behalf of government and the people of Sierra Leone that later became his personal, unexplained wealth. This form of dishonesty explains the reason president Bio hardly allows his minister and other public officials to represent him in important government fora.
However, in as much as we continue to laud the efforts of the CEO, we also want to remind him of some formidable strides that he needs to make irrespective of his personal political ambitions. He must keep on working for his second term instead of showing fuss on delivering on state governance services to the public. He also should not be protecting corrupt public officials in government. President Bio should have therefore fired Prof. Francis and the Clerk of Parliament Hon. Tarawalie long ago to allow proper impartial investigations by the ACC into their matters like former President Koroma did in the cases of former Minister of Energy and Power’s Income Electric contract allegation, Haja Afsatu Kabba, former Transport and Aviation Minister, Ibrahim Kemoh Sesay cocaine plane saga, former State House Chief of Staff, Dr Richard Conteh’s alleged forging of the former president’s signature in the timber issues. The list is long who were all fired by their former boss to allow investigations into their cases, which is missing under the Bio regime more so in alleged corruption allegations against top government officials. It is not an easy task to sack people who have worked tirelessly with you to reach the presidency, but you need to do as the laws of the country demands without fair or favour to earn public confidence once more.
Besides, other personality makeup that is not known about politician Alpha Osman Timbo is the fact that he is a unionist with legal and teaching and professional backgrounds popularly attached to the Sierra Leone Teachers’ Union where the latest chief suspect of the ACC started his political journey as a president and later find ways into the SLPP under the then leadership of late former president Kabbah where he served as a cabinet minister. Timbo with such a huge following from the teaching fields especially contested against president Bio for the presidential candidacy of the SLPP, but submerged even the party’s national delegate conference.
No matter the outcome of this particular investigation and all other pending ones appear to be president Bio should not in any way expect to remain selective in his anti-corruption fight by protecting so many of his friends and family under his canopy at State House while he keep chasing others including vulnerable opposition members and their supporters. Such chase would be easily labelled as ‘politically motivate.’ Therefore we wait for the review of investigations into ACC matters that have to do with his Chief Minister Prof David Francis; Clerk of the House, Hon. Umar Paran Tarawalie and Perm Rep. to UN Alie Kabba for “improprieties” in the best interest of fair play and public trust in our national resolve in mitigating corruption to give way in properly consolidating our growing democracy.