By Ralph Sesay
The Director of Finance and Administration at the National Minerals Agency has testified at the Justice Biobele Commissions of Inquiry on Monday 8th April 2019.
The witness told the Commission that, in March,2018, he was Deputy Director of Administration and Finance at the NMA and was later promoted to the substantive Director position in December 2018. He said his responsibilities include generally overseeing the day to day expenditures of the NMA, liaising with external stakeholders like the Ministry of Finance and NRA, amongst others.
He told the Commission that the NMA had a total of thirteen (13) bank accounts and that the Director General NMA, Sahr Wonday, and a number of other individuals were category A and B signatories to the various leones and dollar accounts of the NMA.
Mohamed Kakay, Director of Administration and Finance, National Minerals Agency, also noted that the NMA was remitting monthly 0.75 % of the 3% from the export of precious minerals to the Community Development account of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources since the establishment of the NMA in 2012.
The witness however continued that the NMA was retaining monies accrued from assessment, application and other related fees and licenses plus Government annual subventions.
These monies, he noted, were utilized by the NMA for its day to day functions even though the Authority only had the mandate through the Finance Act of 2017.
He could not explain why the NMA was using such funds when they had not got the authority to do so.
Mr. Kakay disclosed that it was the Director General who would explain why the NMA was using such monies when they did not have the authority.
Mr. Kakay, Commission Witness 4, is the current Director of Administration and Finance at the NMA and class A signatory to the NMA’s account. Three witnesses have earlier on testified at the Justice Biobele Commission of Inquiry and this includes Peter Bangura, Director of Mines, Thomas Jonjo, Senior Accountant and Mr. Brima Sowa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources.
The Justice Biobele Commission of Enquiry has, yesterday started looking at the management of the country’s minerals’ sector, which many believed had been hugely mismanaged with Government negotiating dubious deals and agreements with crook multinational companies.
Mining communities have remained poor with lack of basic social services. Compensation for land and crops have remained a pittance and what will such an enquiry do to the sector is what many Sierra Leoneans are looking forward to in the next coming months.