By Musa Paul Feika
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament who doubles as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Honourable Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has pronounced that the Public Accounts Committee will in the not too distant future visit the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA) to inspect the ongoing refurbishment of its administrative building.
The reason for the visit, Hon. Conteh stated, is to ascertain the claims made by the General Manager and Management of SLPA in respect of improvements they have implemented at the Port.
Hon. Tawa Conteh made this announcement on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024 during a PAC meeting when the SLPA management was summoned to respond to queries raised in 2021/2022 Auditor General’s Report.
At this meeting, the SLPA was represented by the General Manager, Mr. Yankuba Bio, who informed the Committee that the Port’s old administrative building has been rehabilitated to suit administrative needs and that it will serve as the administrative hub for the next two years.
“We have rehabilitated the old administrative building, which we will manage for at least, the next two years,” the General Manager assured, adding that the old Fire Engine was also not left out as it has been repaired to fit for purpose.
Mr. Bio disclosed that the Port has maintained its larger, older fire engine and repaired the trailers, issues, which were highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report.
During the session, the Principal Auditor, Mohamed Mustapha, from the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL), disclosed that when the audit team visited the SLPA, they noticed the ongoing reconstruction at the Port, but despite their request for the survey plan for the reconstruction, it was not submitted to them.
The Committee Chairman, Hon. Tawa Conteh went on to question the General Manager about the status of the reconstruction work.
Responding, Mr. Bio narrated that they actually had planned to construct a new administrative building but that the plan was abandoned due to lack of funds. He said the decision to rehabilitate the existing administrative building came on later and stated that work was expected to last for the next two years.
The Committee Chairman therefore informed Mr. Bio and he and his Committee members will visit the Port to assess the state of the reconstruction and that of the Fire Engine to determine its adequateness to handle fire emergencies at the Port.
Despite the assurances provided by the General Manager, Mr. Mustapha reminded the Committee that the Auditor General’s records still indicate that the Ports has not purchased a new fire engine, stressing that the issue remains unresolved until a new audit confirms the changes claimed by the SLPA.