Member of Parliament the main opposition who doubles as Deputy Leader II of the Opposition, Hon Aaron Koroma who spoke on the economic situation said the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) Government had put the country in the worst situation since Sierra Leone gained independence.
Hon Koroma gave statistical data on how the Government had mismanaged the growth of the economy in the recent years. The MP blamed the Government for flaunting the Constitution Sierra Leone by extra spending without parliamentary consent.
According to Hon Aaron Koroma, ‘This Government had violated the Constitution and the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act by spending without the authority of Parliament’.
Hon Aaron Koroma called on Parliament to investigate the Ministry of Finance for abrogating the law of the country.
He debunked the previous debaters from the ruling Government for accusing the then APC Government of bridging the PFM Act and the Constitution. The MP accused the Government that employing specialists would affect the Wage Bill.
Hon Aaron Koroma compared the public debt of the previous and current Governments and noted that for everything on the Wage Bill, the budget deficit is high. On the road network, he called on mining companies operating in the Tonkolili District to construct roads linking Magburoka to Bumbuna and its environs.
On his part, the Deputy Chief Whip II of the Majority in Parliament, Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh said part of the increase in budget, is the creation of new Embassies that was recommended by the previous APC Government. ‘This Government is operating on the ambit of the laws’ he said.
According to him, inflation at present, is part of the global crisis, and noted that this Government is part of the global village.
Hon Tawa made reference to documentation that supports his claim on global inflation and said Sierra Leone is not an exception to the global phenomenon.
Hon Tawa outlined the reason for the 5% tax imposition on rice and highlighted taxes that were imposed by the previous APC Government on goods and services.
On road construction, he debunked an MP from Falaba for saying money allocated to that district by the Government is minimal.
He challenged several arguments or concerns rose by the Opposition MPs on the economy and went on to highlight the economic prudent of the Government in addressing the economy.
On agriculture, he said the issue is an endemic problem and went on to pinpoint previous leaders who made promises for the sustainability of agriculture in Sierra Leone and had failed.
He concluded by calling on all to focus on agricultural productivity.