By Africa 24 investigators

Sierra Leone home-based road Construction Company is accused of tax invasion in most of its dealings with government.

One of the prominent accusations against the firm is non-compliance with the country’s labor laws to protect the welfare of its employees.

Gento Group stands accused of failing to pay workers’ pension rates on a monthly basis.

The country’s insurance policy requires that a 15% is deducted from the salary of every worker in Sierra Leone.

The employer is supposed to pay 10 percent for an employee to the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) as taxes to the state.

The balance 5% out of the 15% rate goes to NASSIT for the employee upon his/her retirement as benefits.

But most companies in Sierra Leone have woefully failed to comply with the said regulations.

Most workers go on years without being insured by their companies.

Gento Group of Company is among the corporate bodies that are known to have been flouting tax regulations in the country.

Despite Sierra Leone’s economy is driven by mineral exports and other raw materials, it is heavily reliant on tax revenues collected each year from public institutions by the state.

But this drive is being stifled by mostly private, foreign and local companies.

This affects a boom in government revenue mobilization.

Under the All People’s Congress (APC) regime in 2017, a Chinese statellite company, Independent Television (ITV) was refusing to pay insurance taxes for its employees to NASSIT.

Habitually, most Lebanese companies are notorious for this ‘bad game’- they don’t pay insurances to government for workers.

Since owners of corporate bodies have much influence within government cycle, they usually exempt themselves from paying corporate welfare taxes.

Workers of Gento Group construction company are among the long list of Sierra Leoneans who are working without being covered by insurance schemes or entitled to pensions and retirement benefits.

Asked about his salary, a steel bender at Gento-Group told us his wage is better than a colleague who works at a similar Chinese company in Sierra Leone.

“Sure, Gento is paying much than the Chinese” he responded.

Currently, the local based company, Gento, is constructing a handful of roads in the heart of Waterloo.

Parsonage Street, Lidel Street, Harshorn Street at Soja Town are all

under construction.

But the streets are halfway finished while work is still on progress.

Meanwhile, workers do not have many tools as the equipment are not in plentiful supply.

The number of Gento Group’s workers is too small to do the many streets enlisted to be built at Soja Town alone.

And the condition of workers is pretty sad as most do not have protective gears and uniforms.

Gento Group of company was approached several times at Wilson Street office in Waterloo for a comment on employees’ welfare and retirement plan but couldn’t give access to senior engineers.

Gento Group enjoys a tax haven as the owner of the company, Mohamed Gento Kamara, dodges state taxes and labour policies.

Gento is now among the business tycoons in Sierra Leone who wields overriding powers and control.

As an active politician one thinks Mohamed Gento must allow somebody else to step in on his business fortune to avoid conflict of interest.