By Ragan M. Conteh

The Chairman of National Privatization Commission, Dr Alex Prince Harding, said that they know nothing about the state-owned enterprises and governance bill submitted by the Ministry of Finance to Parliament.

According to him, NCP has been served of oxygen, underscoring that their allocation is about 2 million leones.

He said due to neglect: “NCP lacks people who should go out to do the needful. We also lack present day innovation.”

He said NCP “has been used for political jobs and that the genesis of this state owned enterprises is to target a single person not to exist.

MPs questioned the manner in which the drafters did their consultations, urging them to provide evidence of those they consulted.

The drafters said the NCP input that was sent to be factored, those inputs were not included in the bill.

The deputy leader of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), Hon. Daniel Koroma has said that before the presentation of the bill to legislative committee, the drafters should have been able to educate Members of Parliament on what the people of Sierra Leone stand to benefit after the passing of the bill into act.

According to him the drafters didn’t explain to them why they want to repeal the 2002 act without citation.

Hon. Catherine Zainab Tarawallie asked for the list of SOEs. She also asked if they want to repeal the 2002 Act of NCP.

She said that the law has to be sent back for it to be prepared well.

Hon. Kekura Vandy on the other hand, said that the current State Owned Enterprises had and are still not maintained yet they are bracing up to establish new ones.

He urged that laws be drafted by Parliament and not by Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).