By Ragan M. Conteh
The deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Solomon Sengehpoh Thomas, has ordered the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to table the investigation report on Honourables Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, Ngevao and others in the Well of Parliament for debate.
According to Hon. Thomas, the report has taken too long in the hands of the Ethics Committee, adding that Parliament is an institution that makes laws and should respect provisions enshrined in the law books by doing the needful.
Making his submission, one of the Members of Parliament on the Ethics Committee, Hon. Mohamed Bangura, informed the deputy Speaker that the investigations have been concluded ever since, and their Committee have submitted the findings and recommendations to the Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Chernoh Bundu, and the Leader of Government Business for two months now.
The Leader of Government Business, Hon. Matthew Nyuma, acknowledged the receipt of the report, but stated that some of the recommendations needed clarifications; assured the House that the report will be laid in the Well of Parliament in the next sitting for a possible debate.
It could be recalled that the Ethics and Privileges Committee was instituted by the House following the aftermath of corruption allegations against the House of Parliament of Sierra Leone, which led to the resignation of the Member of Parliament representing Constituency 132, Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, from the Parliamentary Committee on Transparency and Accountability.
Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh was investigated by the Ethics Committee due to what he referred to as the leadership of Parliament’s interference on his Committee activities, which were interrupted during the probing of the Information Minister’s conflicting status report submitted to the Committee, especially on the unbundling of the Sierra Leone Cable Limited (SALCAB).
Hon. Hindolo Ngevao was investigated by the Ethics Committee in Parliament because he confirmed to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) interview that the Sierra Leone Parliament was corrupt.
Other two MPs were also investigated for allegations of using derogatory or obscene language on their colleague female Members of Parliament.
What is in the report document is yet to be disclosed, but the deputy Speaker is very much concerned about the delay of the report.