The Director General of the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC), Emanuel Mannah is accused of conflict of interest in public office.

He is accused of hiring his personal consultancy firm – Finance Applied Management and Engineering (FAME) Consulting Services and a certain individual Brima Bah, a staff of the Commission to serve as consultant. This is said to be an abuse of office.

Apparently, on the 26th of August 2024 at Kenema, the Paramount Chief MP of Kenema District, Hon PC Kanneh protested against Mannah’s use of the stakeholder’s consultation for the nationwide sensitization which he described as a diversion of purpose.

Sources claim that Mannah’s personal consultancy firm was contracted on the implementation of a whooping Seventy Thousand United States Dollars (USD 70.000) granted to the Commission by the World Bank, which was meant for the review of the SLEWRC Act 2011 and, a sum of Forty Thousand United States Dollars (USD 40.000) purportedly given to organize a nationwide sensitization on the use of energy in a Town Hall meeting that never was held, according to report.

Both World Bank-funded activities is estimated in the tune of One Hundred and Ten Thousand Dollars (USD$110.000) but engulfed in conflict of interests breach pursuant to sections 45 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act.

It is also alleged that Mannah contracted his friend to implement a supposed nationwide sensitization project on energy usage for Town Hall meetings which was not executed as proposed and approved.

Mannah is accused to have misappropriated these monies by pretending that both activities were the same despite they meant to be different as were separately budgeted for, a violation of provisions of Section 37 of the AC Act.

Evidence abound that Mannah contracted another firm owned by his friend to implement one of the projects instead of organizing a separate Town Hall Meeting.

He used the Review of the Commission’s Act as a stakeholder engagement thereby siphoning the money meant for the above activity in violation of sections (37) which reads as misappropriation of donor funds or property.

Observers fear that if the nefarious activities at the SLEWRC are not halted by the ACC where observers were reliably informed that Mannah and some senior staff were invited for questioning.

The Commission will lose the much-needed donors’ confidence and effective service delivery of the Commission.

Attempts to get Mannah’s version of the story has been futile but this media will continue to report the unraveling activities of the embattled SLEWRC.