The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has recovered Le5,216,400, which, were funds allocated to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, but some officials of the Ministry used to buy personal high-end gadgets without following proper due process and procedures as per the Public Finance Management Regulations, the ACC said in statement on Monday.
According to the COVID-19 Audit Report 2020 by the Audit Service Sierra Leone, the said personal high-end gadgets were delivered to one Sahr Steve Yambasu of the Ministry.
The said items were said to have been authorised and bought by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abdul Rahman Musa Fofanah, for the use of the Minister of Health, to facilitate Zoom and other online meetings.
The ACC said in a statement on Monday that “The items were bought for the purpose of facilitating zoom meetings by the Minister following the need for more reliance on virtual meetings where such gadgets would be necessary. However, the officials did not follow proper procurement and documentary processes to ensure the purchase was according to public finance management directives of the state. As a result, the said Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abdul Rahman Musa Fofanah, was given 24 hours to produce the full refund to the State or face the full force of the law; which he has done by making a full immediate payment to the ACC for onward payment into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.”
In a related development, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently presented to President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, a cheque of Le 8 billion (Eight Billion Leones) as part of a total of Le 26.8 billion recovered since July 2018 from the corrupt as part of its non-conviction based asset recovery.
This amount in the cheque represents the total recovery in cash from the corrupt for the year ending December, 2020. The presentation ceremony took place on Wednesday 30th December, 2020, at State House in Freetown.
Presenting the cheque to President Bio, the ACC Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq., said a strong anti-corruption effort goes after “the assets” in addition to strategies like prosecution, prevention and public education and not just “the person”. He stated, “In Africa, we have been a leading example in the way to fight corruption, and I am proud to say many other countries are following and learning from us”. He went further to note that, the cheque being presented by the ACC is part of undiluted non-conviction-based asset recovery effort only; and does not include monies recovered on behalf of Government agencies, fines imposed by the Courts, and other assets recovered like houses and vehicles.
Receiving the cheque, the President thanked the ACC Commissioner and his Team for “the way they have spearheaded one of the most difficult fights admirably”. He said most of the problems the country faces today were as a result of acts of corruption and the fact that little or nothing was being done to combat them over the years preceding his tenure. “We know corruption always fights back, but we should never relent because this is a fight for the poorest of the poor,” the President said. He said he was happy that the anti-corruption campaign is producing results that have made him proud because of the way other nations make reference to Sierra Leone’s anti-corruption efforts in his presence at high level meetings and in conversations among his peers. The President reiterated his commitment to building a modern medical diagnostic centre in Sierra Leone from the stolen funds recovered by the ACC, which he said are part of his Human Capital Development agenda.
By Sallieu S. Kanu
5/01/2021. ISSUE NO:7973