Alhaji K Tarawally: Siera Leone Telegraph: 16 January 2024:
The National Grand Coalition (NGC) is shocked and deeply concerned by the apparent lack of action by Dr Abass Bundu, the Speaker of Parliament, in response to the serious allegations of corruption and malpractice within the Sierra Leone Parliament. Specifically, the NGC accuses the Speaker of aiding and abetting corruption by failing to take decisive disciplinary action against Paran Tarawally, the Clerk of Parliament, charged with alleged corruption by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The NGC finds it appalling that despite the serious allegations against the Clerk of Parliament, no concrete steps have been taken by the Parliament’s leadership to address the issue. This lack of action raises serious questions about the commitment of Parliament to uphold integrity, accountability, and transparency as a legislative organ of government.
This troubling development is not an isolated incident. In October 2020, this same Parliament, under the leadership of the current Speaker, immediately suspended two parliamentary whistleblowers, Hon. Hindolo Moiwo Gevao and Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, from Parliamentary Committee Proceedings following their interviews with the BBC and Radio Democracy.
In those interviews, both members of Parliament raised concerns about corruption within the institution of Parliament. Instead of addressing these concerns, the leadership of Parliament referred to the allegations as unverified and sought to silence the voices of those speaking out against corruption.
The NGC believes these actions and inactions indicate a systemic problem within the Sierra Leone Parliament. It is troubling that individuals who raise legitimate concerns about corruption and malpractice within Parliament are subjected to punitive measures while those accused of actual wrongdoing are seemingly shielded from accountability.
The NGC calls on Dr Abass Bundu (Photo), as the Speaker of Parliament, to demonstrate decisive leadership and uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability. Immediate, transparent, and impartial investigations into the allegations against the Clerk of Parliament must be conducted, and appropriate disciplinary actions, if warranted, should be taken.
NGC believes that corruption should be treated as a criminal offense. Part of the problem in our enforcement effort is the need for adequate, fair, and consistent punitive measures proportional to the crime’s nature, extent, and monetary value.
Therefore, we strongly urge the Anti-Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone to revise its approach by discontinuing the practice of treating acts of corruption in Sierra Leone as a civil offense rather than a criminal offense. This practice allows individuals with unique connections and privileges to evade accountability for their crimes by simply paying fines without facing imprisonment.
We firmly believe that effective anti-corruption enforcement requires certain acts of corruption, whether active or passive, in both the private and public sectors to be classified as criminal offenses. This approach would ensure that individuals convicted of corruption, regardless of their wealth or connections, must serve a prison sentence commensurate with the severity of their crimes. Failing to implement stringent punitive measures as deterrents only perpetuates further corruption.
In conclusion, the NGC urges the Parliament to create an environment that encourages whistleblowers to come forward with concerns about corruption and malpractice without fear of reprisal. A truly transparent and accountable Parliament is essential for advancing democracy and good governance in Sierra Leone.
The NGC remains committed to working towards a Sierra Leone where transparency, integrity, and accountability are upheld at all levels of government, including the Parliament.
About the author: Alhaji K Tarawally is the Acting Deputy Secretary General, National Grand Coalition
Who is mentioning the irrelevant NGC here? I will say no more. Talking about Abass Bundu, him being accused of corruption is no novelty. Is it? Read below his mea culpa for presiding over a free-for-all corruption binge in parliament. https://sierraloaded.sl/news/speaker-apology-corruption-scandal-sierra-leone-parliament/
Dr Harding under President Kabba – you remember him?
Bio under the NPRC-you remember him? Them lot like most Sierra Leonean recycled politicians wear that corruption tag or taint with a proud and unabashed badge of honour; hero-worshipped and revered by their sea-gull-like blind supporters and followers by virtue of the expected crumbs and leftovers from them greedy politicians; being their tribesmen, school mates, college mates, “Ndemia” or “komaneh”; or being willing victims of the hoaxes, obfuscations, red herrings and mirages engineered by them.The latest publicity stunt by the ACC putting on display old bank notes as proof of his pudding plays to that particular gallery.
Sierra Leone is being taken right to the cleaners to leave her long suffering people in destitution, in the doldrums, and high and dry. There is no shadow of a doubt about that. With the daylight thieving, the chaos and disorder in the world’s 2nd poorest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita and one with the 3rd worst performing currency in 2023, my forecast and prognosis are on track and target.
The old “Athens of West Africa” is to become the poorest of the poor before Bio is chased out of power. If that becomes passè without being a war, it will be the first time that Sierra Leone will receive that ignominious accolade in “peace time” or to put it in its proper context “during the absence of war.”
See the list of the Africa-dominated ten poorest countries in the world. Because i am a stickler for evidence, I will give you the reference for free.
Source : https://www.visualcapitalist.com/worlds-poorest-countries-2023-gdp-per-capita/
Burundi $308
Sierra Leone $472
Malawi $483
Central African Republic $516
Madagascar $540
Somalia $562
South Sudan $570
Niger $574
Mozambique $579
Eritrea $700
In the interim, the economic fleecing of the country is continuing at pace. The Government fraudsters are using all the tricks in their crooked playbooks to scupper any intense scrutiny or auditing of their diabolical acts by among others refusing to grant access to the Auditor-General thr database of foreign transanctions maintained by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Is there anything to hide? Who is afraid of any revelation of an illegal transfer to a shell company such as Banga Investment in an offshore tax haven such as the British Virgin Islands?
https://awokonewspaper.sl/fiu-faces-scrutiny-as-database-of-foreign-transfers-withheld-from-audit/
Who will come soonest to clean the stinky stables?
No wonder the national debt is almost $4 Billion, the debt to GDP rato is almost 100% and the Bank of Sierra Leone’s foreign currency reserves have been depleted to 2.3 months of imports far beyond the recommended 3 months. As the President is globe-trotting, everyone thinks the country has money to spare.
Everyone thinks of the President’s professed anti-corruption credentials along the lines: he who comes to equity must come with clean hands, i.e. a person who makes a claim in equity must be free from any taint of fraud with respect to that claim. Who will ever forget the corruption accusations levied against Bio by late President Kabbah, by the A PC Presidential candidate Samura and the Auditor Generals?
The country is on a debt binge and is on course to soon surpass the highest ever debt to GDP ratio of 125% set in 1995 during Bio’s NPRC regime. With the national currency – the Leone- being the 3rd worst performing currency in the world, the debt mountain could only continue to bury the country in poverty, penury and pauperism.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/debt-to-gdp-ratio-by-country
https://www.forbes.com/uk/advisor/investing/currencies/top-10-weakest-currencies-in-the-world/
Dark clouds of the simulated and feigned coup alleged to have been committed against an illegitimate Government and its consequent ripples and dominoes unleashed on the peace, security and stability in the country are gathering on the horizon. Where is BBC Africa Eye where Sierra Leone needs it most? Remarkable how they exposed the fake pastor T B Joshua with his fake miracles. See below:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-67944614.amp
With such a context and backdrop, the country’s junk credit risk rating will keep plummetting, reducing her ability to get concessionary loans and attract foreign direct investment which is the only panacea or silver bullet- if you like-that will fuel robust economic growth that will outpace the bulging population growth
We all have rights to our opinion. However, if our opinion negatively dents someone’s integrity based on insufficient or untruthful information, it is a disservice to the persons that you want to inform. The current expose concerning the corruption by the Clerk of parliament was done by the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Bundu. It is now the responsibility of the ACC to investigate the Clerk and indict him and his wife to court. It is also the responsibility of the ACC to inform HR about an active investigation against the clerk of parliament and ask the HR to suspend him from office as enshrined in the ACC Act. So Dr. Bundu has done what he needs to do as soon as the information of corruption came to his knowledge. What else can he do? This is how democracy and rule of law works.
It appears hypocritical for the NGC party to vehemently denounce Speaker of the House Abass Bundu for his alleged failure to address prevalent corruption within the legislature, especially when they recently entered into an electoral pact with Bundu’s party and government. If corruption has indeed been rampant under Bundu’s leadership, why did the former parliamentary leader of the NGC decide to align with his party just a few months ago? Did Kandeh Yumkella, the NGC leader, remain oblivious of Bundu’s incompetence and ethical lapses? Alternatively, did the NGC engage in self-serving political manoeuvres, possibly bordering on deceit and betrayal, prompting figures like Dr Bright and other influential NGC party members to walk away due to the troubling aftermath of such actions?
Let us come to our senses forthwith to recall that Abass Bundu has a criminal disposition. Added to this, he is drained of any moral or ethical compass. He was convicted of selling our passports for personal gain. As Secretary General of ECOWAS, he turned himself to an arms merchant, selling weapons to armed groups in the sub-region to add fuel to the carnage that was taking place in the region. Abass Bundu was the man caught naked, on video, with a little girl young enough to be his granddaughter .
So if Abass Bundu , as speaker of parliament, refuses to investigate allegations of corruption within the institution, isn’t it a continuation of the overall bankruptcy of the man – morally, professionally and ethically? He is guided by nothing except filth of the worst kind. And he has a boss (Maada Bio) who is the flag bearer of it all.