Sierra Leone Telegraph: 21 January 2021:
Sierra Leone’s main opposition political party – the All People’s Congress (APC), today published a damning statement, accusing the Bio-led government of “State capture”, after reports of rampant corruption in the government.
The Auditor General’s 2019 report on the government’s management and use of State resources and public funds is replete with evidence of serious mismanagement or misappropriation of public funds, estimated at over One Hundred Million Dollars.
Writing for the APC, this is what Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh, the National Secretary General of the party said today:
For months now, the national social media has been awash with comments on various publications alleging serious instances of corruption in very high places in Sierra Leone.
Of all the publications, none has been viewed with awe than the 2019 Auditor General’s Report and scandalous revelations by the reputable Africanist Press. The article titled “Sierra Leone: President and First Lady Spent over Le10 Billion on Lebanon Holiday” is the latest in the series of such articles by the Africanist Press. Previous articles include:
1. “Sierra Leone: President and First Lady spent Le5.2 Billion on December travel and holiday” (January 5, 2021);
2. “President Bio, Lead way Trading, and Sierra Leone’s Timber Export Devaluation” (November 19, 2020);
3. “Sierra Leone: Le21.3 billion spent on irregular procurement” (November 7, 2020); and
4. “Sierra Leone: Le27.2 billion missing in maritime revenues” (October 30, 2020).
As it is obvious from their titles, all of these articles point an accusatory finger at the President and his wife, the First Lady.
These articles have not only been written by reputable investigative journalists from Sierra Leone, United Kingdom and elsewhere, their allegations are also solidly backed up by documentary evidences obtained from President Bio’s government sources.
Moreover, coming as they do at a time when the country is experiencing its worst economic and financial crisis since independence, these allegations clearly underscore the emergence of a whole new level and type of corruption that verges on the borderline of ‘State Capture’ never seen before in our country.
This new type of corruption, State Capture, is occurring in President Bio’s watch and in cahoots with his ruling ‘Paopa’ elite and powerful businessmen that manipulate policy formation and influence the rules of the game (including laws and financial regulations) to their own advantage and to the utter disadvantage and detriment of the already suffering masses of Sierra Leoneans struggling to meet their daily basic human needs.
In addition, the circulation of such articles in the Social Media and elsewhere directly and unequivocally accusing the President of our country and his Spouse, the First Lady, of withdrawing huge amounts of foreign currency from the Central Bank and Consolidated Revenue Fund does not only send a disturbing signal to our development partners, it also damages and dents the credibility of Sierra Leone as a destination for any type of foreign investment.
Thus, while the country waits the Auditor General’s 2019 Report to go through the necessary statutory processes including Parliamentary scrutiny and review by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the allegations contained in the Africanist Press publication are so serious to the level that we, the All Peoples’ Congress as the largest Opposition Party in the country and our citizens can no longer wait but to raise the alarm and demand that President Bio, his wife and government come clean by assuring the nation, with concrete documentary and credible evidence, that the Africanist press allegations are not true.
Signed: Amb. Dr. Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh National Secretary General – APC.
Ibrahim Bah, you are so right. SLPP and APC are one and the same. If any of them has a kidney failure, for example, all an experienced nurse (not a surgeon specialist) has to do is remove one from the other and transplant it in the ailing one, and it will work with exceptional efficiency. The patient will need no monitoring; from the operating room they can go to the nearest restaurant , order enormous food and drown it with a couple of beers.
When either of them are in opposition, they behave like Angel Jibril/Gabriel who receives direct communication from the Almighty. In government they are shaitan/satan , doubling as the angel of death. Allah/God knows that we are sick of them. We should emphatically demonstrate this in 2023; it’s the only way we can suppress the “bla bla” of the two major parties.
We must bring in Dr Yumkella, if only to have a little space to breath away from the stifling heat emitted by both SLPP and APC. If we don’t stop them, they shall entrap us for another 60 years to add to the 60 years since our so-called independence. What this means is that a child just born this minute will be close to retirement. Of course most of us that are presently 13 years old and above will be down under. Let’s think about it.
Damn; what a scandal; Sierra Leone is a small state which has been suffering long time ago about corruption and mishandled funds. So please Pa Yansaneh stop the bla bla. APC sand SLPP are all the same. So I think it is time we switched to other young parties who can help and rebuild Sierra Leone; so let us join hands and rebuild Sierra Leone.
Mother Sierra Leone is on the pangs of a rebirth – a renewal. Osman Foday Yansaneh, as Secretary General of APC, has tacitly admitted that his party was corrupt while in power, only that it kept it within certain limits. On the other hand, SLPP has given corruption a sadistic, ferocious and tempestuous new level and meaning.
Throughout history it has been proven an infinite number of times, that when everything seems muddled up, it is best to sit back, take a deep breath and wait for human frailty or an echo from the past, to spill the beans all over the place. Here and then the inner entrails of a riddle which has been puzzling forever will be solved.
If there was any doubt that APC under Ernest Koroma were corrupt, the proof is nakedly before us. The jurists who sat on the COI, are now conspicuously and unequivocally vindicated; their findings couldn’t be more accurate.
Until now only APC supporters, using social media, have been opposing Maada Bio and his team, sometimes using useless foul language to demonstrate their background. But it looks like the official APC opposition have miraculously started to stitch their backbone together, headed by Osman Foday Yansaneh. We are ready for the showdown between “Kaynda” and “ogiri”. The stench should keep us at bay, only moving in to pick up the casualties, with our noses firmly covered.
HOTSPOTS EVERYWHERE. Since the neo-NPRC succeeded in overthrowing a democratically elected APC government through the help of the so-called international community, alongside a chronically corrupt judicial machinery and a feeble and already-indoctrinated armed forces. It was surely a predetermined affair; with the then ruling APC party winning 68 seats against the main Opposition SLPP’s 49 seats, out of a total of 132 seats, it was statistically significant to say that the APC had retained power in ideal circumstances. However, it was never to happen; as prominent international stakeholders were hell bent in effecting a regime change out of all odds. The climax of this ominous blueprint manifested in the unprecedented swearing-in of the fake President in unlit premises even before the true winner of the presidential contest was to be officially declared.
For the first time in the history of Sierra Leone, the country was forcefully entrusted with a minority ruling party, at all costs – paopa. What are the implications for an efficient and trouble-free functioning of such a government? Will this illegitimate type of government try to forge an amicable relationship with the majority Opposition, amid the passing of laws and the initiation of stringent policies in parliament? In such a complex and nefarious political set-up, which party is inevitably going to take ownership of the strategically important role of Speaker of the House? The rest is history. It seems the seeds of an inflammable political atmosphere had been sown long time ago – from day one.
Nonetheless, in the background of all this political mess-up, there is the Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate alleged corruption by the outgoing APC party. A well-thought-out mechanism designed to defuse the circuitry that would energize statutory alarms in the presence of political hotspots. In other words, a deliberate arrangement ‘permanently’ in place to blackmail and override the Opposition APC party in the event they intend to raise the alarm in the midst of the SLPP’s unconstitutional and shady dealings. Not surprisingly, the SLPP have turned out to be the most corrupt government in the history of the country. There are political sparks everywhere, as the APC are now determined to infuse into this complex political schematics and raise any impending alarms – no matter what.
It is good to fight against corruption in sierra Leone, everyone knows that with corruption, there will be no development, so it is better we join hands together to fight against corruption in our country.
I thank you Mr. President to lead the country into the new direction.
If the President of Sierra Leone thinks we are going to stand back, and stand down like shackled prisoners of war while he and his wife indulge themselves on an extravagant spending spree with poor peoples money then he’s got another thing coming. Its no longer a Family affair for those who would want to know but an outright Robbery affair. Yup, its outright blatant despicable daylight robbery by a Shoddy actress lacking in self confidence, lacking the ability to memorize the simplest movie one liners, and a puppet husband that is aiding and abetting her criminal activities. They have both now become an imminent threat to our national stability and security. The new direction is a vague, imprecise path that strengthens abuse of power, encourages thefts and tribalism. Billions are being stashed away beneath the fetish shrines of their creepy Juju priests that are the primary enablers of their deplorable nefarious activities.
Since these potbelly criminals assumed the reins of power nothing sustainable has been achieved in the interest of our Sierra Leone. A damn shame is it not that State House has now become totally transformed into a Den of Thieves and a sleazy disgusting Brothel for facilitating SLPP harlotry? Criminals everywhere having a field day – Loser David Francis that once toiled in tears and sweat in the freezing winter cold for donkey years earning only a pitiful, measly salary has now hit the jackpot and become a fast lane millionaire, raking in duffle bags full of dollars overnight.
And it has been widely rumored that Finance Minister JJ “The Hangman” Saffa who has been steadily strangling and crucifying our people through his ineptitude, debilitating policies and lack of clear vision sleeps comfortably on a mattress stashed with Pounds and Euros while our people keeping on struggling to buy a bowl of soup. Heartless to the bone! Saffa and Sahr Jusu and nothing but a rag tag bunch of economists that cannot agree on a sensible economic approach forward for the benefit of our struggling people – Doctorate degree hoodlums and sleaze balls – that’s all the notorious criminal SLPP cabal can boast of and that’s all they are ever gonna be.(lol)
In 2018 Bio was elected to the highest office of the land. He stood on a manifesto to bring people together and tackle corruption. But today he has become the high priest of corruption. Leading the most corrupt government, both in the economic and political spheres our country have ever known. In the age of sprouting Fake news, or as one of Trump’s advisers will put it, “Alternative Facts” we can be pretty sure Bio and his spin doctors have mastered both. In Bio’s orbit, Facts become an after thought. Suffice to say Bio is always on the air waves Preaching to the converted about the evils of corruption, but privately engaged in the most corrupt activities, the likes of which our country has never witnessed. More like he is saying: do as I say, but don’t do as I do.
Corruption, which he himself was gracious to acknowledged is the main cause of under development in our country. Three years on, those that voted for him can’t point to any specific programmes his government has introduced to tackle this menace in our society. His apologists will come out batting with statements, actually the ACC under Bio has done a fantastic job. My question for such people, are you better off today or worse off since Bio assumed office? If President Buhari can fight corruption in Nigeria of all countries, what is holding Bio back? Talk of incompetence is an understatement. Instead of spearheading the fight against corruption, Bio and his government will go down in history as one of the most corrupt government we have had since independence.
The idea that the international financial institutions and some of diplomatic corps especially the US, are giving him the green pass that he is indeed fighting corruption, everyday independent performance indicators show his government is not only corrupt on industrial scale but our friends in the international community are increasingly becoming complicit in this charade. Bio’s public pronouncements should be treated with caution. Should be treated like blowing hot air. It makes the lives of everyday Sierra Leoneans harder. There is no vaccine for the Bionomic pandemic.
Mr Ben Kaifala as ACC boss continues to do the best as long as you are doing it with the interest of the people of Sierra Leone for sure God is with you and you will surely succeed. It is corruption that led our country since we gained independence upto now we are not growing still depreciating. We thank God for his Excellency Rtd Brg. Bio for attacking the fight against corruption. It is in this current government that we see the US ambassador to Sierra Leone gave an award to president Bio for fight against corruption, really it means a lot to our beloved Sierra Leone. I hope the 2019 auditor general reports you are going to treat with it with serious fear. For me president Bio is the best for now.