By Ragan M. Conteh

The Deputy Speaker who doubles as the Chairman of the Public Account Committee in House of Parliament, Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has frown at the Ministry of Transport and Aviation for allowing a foreign company to procure vehicles for Paramount Chief.

“Are there any Sierra Leoneans [upon procuring them] . You are wicked, ” he fumed.

The worst that the Hon Deputy Speaker mostly frowned at is the transferring of a whopping sum of  currency, amounting to $3 million dollars to specific banks in Mali.

“Why are we allowing a foreign country to procure vehicles for us. Are there any good business people who are Sierra Leoneans to procure such vehicles and besides the money would have stayed in Sierra Leone if chosen Sierra Leoneans,” he stated.

He revealed that the reasons for the depreciation and scarcity of foreign currency in our banks is caused by such situations in which government officials sometimes are in the habit of conniving with foreigners to steal our monies out of Sierra Leone.

Hon Tawa stressed that even the procurement process is faulty, citing that the minute written by the Ministry was also faulty.

In order to have a clear explanation on the procurement of vehicles for Paramount Chiefs, the Deputy Speaker demanded the summoning of the said contractors to show up within seven (7) days period.

The PAC has also requested some missing documents in the contract as well as the document used to transfer the $3 million dollars into a bank in Liberia and then to banks in Mali.

The committee has also demanded the payee tax document, withholding tax and evidence of space present in Sierra Leone.