By Ragan M. Conteh

The suspension of Sierra Leone’s Auditor General, Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce and her Deputy, Mr. Tamba Momoh is one of the most topical issues at present being discussed by members of the public.

Many citizens hold divergent views on the suspension of the two Auditor Generals about a year ago.

Majority are with the perceptions that it is very unconstitutional for the Auditor General and Deputy to be “unjustly removed from office” at a nick of time for having publishing Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL) annual reports which exposed financial loopholes due to poor  mismanagement by state institutions.

Immediately after the suspension report, the President instituted a tribunal committee that was charged to examine the activities of the Audit Services Sierra Leone (ASSL).

Few months ago, the committee presented their report to President Julius Maada Bio.

Many citizens are in limbo as the current administration had, in 2028, campaigned against corruption practice.

It was as one of the weapons they utilized fully to boot out the then government of former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, the APC.

Bio of SLPP and his men had alleged that Koroma’s administration was marred with corruption and so needed to be kicked out.

At that time, many citizens thought that Bio’s administration would be distinct from the previous administrations in the fight against corruption in the country.

Sierra Leoneans were expecting the President to have set the pace by making sure that corruption becomes infertile in public institutions yet it occurs to be the inverse as misappropriation of public funds ever becomes the order of the day.

Many are of the opinion that this is the worst administration that has made corruption to become almost endemic in public institutions.

State Auditor Reports, Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC)’s revelations have been highlighted instances of corruption occurrences in the Bio’s administration.

Adding his voice on the ruling against ASSL’s boss, APC’s Opposition Chief Whip, Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara, registered his views about the tribunal report since it has been tabled in Parliament to decide on the final fate of two investigated Auditor Generals.

The Opposition Chief Whip made it explicitly clear that the Audit Services Sierra Leone (ASSL), an institution that is responsible to track out documented and undocumented expenditures as well as to trace the performance of government officials for the common good.

The MP said he wanted the President to recall during and after the 2018 general elections when he declared war against corruption.

According to the Opposition Chief Whip, he is shocked to see a dramatic reverse. He especially called on the President’s attention nor to remove the two Auditor Generals from ASSL, adding that removing do them justify that corruption takes a center stage in Bio’s administration.

The MP also analyzed that 2020 audit report indicated that the office of the President had funds being embezzled.

The politician says suspending the two auditors will pervert justice.

The politician reiterated that since the tribunal report has been tabled in the Well of Parliament for approval, he is therefore calling on all parliamentarians to right the mistakes of the President as he was given ill advice to suspend the Auditors and to institute a tribunal committee.

“This is not the time for loyalty, this is the time to save integrity”.

He emphatically continues to calling all Parliamentarians to restore the dignity of the country by not supporting unjust tribunal report as it has the potential to leave out an indelible bad precedence that will haunt the present generation and the next.