Africa news

The Sierra Leone government has been undertaking series of sackings of some senior civil servants in the country but without giving a rationale for their exit.

The Bio-led administration has relieved of duties key appointees who were serving as either ministers or as senior public administrators.

For example, the recent sacking of National Revenue Authority (NRA)’s Commisioner General, Ibrahim Brima Swarray, rings a bell, and the public are concerned about this and would like to know why the NRA’s boss was sacked on Tuesday 5th December this week.

There have been many governments’ officers who had been similarly shown the door from office without any explanation of whether they abuse their office or do otherwise.

Sierra Leoneans would always want to know whether they are sacked due to corruption act in office or for public mismanagement of funds.

The Bank Governor, Professor Kelfala Kallon, was asked to go on a leave in a letter addressed to him about three months ago this year.

Though the letter sounded as if he was just given a leave in order to rest for a while after a tiring job in office, however, it later turned out to be a sacked notice being given to him.

And the public was eager to know what had gone wrong between Professor Kallon and his boss, President Maada Bio.

Not only was the bank governor sacked, but also a former Minister of Justice Priscilla Schwartz was also sacked. Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards is now out of the show and he has been replaced by a new acting Chief Justice.

The new acting Chief Justice who was announced on Wednesday 6th December, 2023, is Justice Nicholas Browne- Marke.

But the manner in which former Justice Babatunde Edwards was relived of office doesn’t seem to go down well with Sierra Leoneans as a letter of a new appointment to incoming Chief Justice reads vaguely.

Thursday’s 7th December, 2023 appointment of new Chief Justice letter reads: I write to inform you that in the absence of the Hon. Chief Justice (who has proceeded on leave), it has pleased His Excellency the president to appoint you as Chief Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone, in an acting capacity, it ends.

The problem is the use of the phrase “in the absence of …” and (“who has proceeded on leave”) in that letter with the heading: An Appointment to Act as Chief Justice, was never clear and detailed because the rationale for the absence of the former Chief Justice’s dismissal was never explained to the public neither has he been sent on a leave.

And the public, the citizens of Sierra Leone, deserve the right to know the rationale or reason why public officers are sacked because it is from these people’s money paid to government as taxes which are partly used to pay up government officials by month as salaries.