Sierra Leone: 5 good points from Maada Bio’s ebola audit letter to the President
Maada Bio casts his vote in Freetown at the 2012 elections in Sierra Leone Credit: Vickie Remoe
Here are the 5 major points from a letter written by Sierra Leone’s former Head of State, Julius Maada Bio to the President on the Ebola Audit Report posted on Facebook and dated February 22 2015. Maada Bio was the opposition presidential candidate with Sierra Leone People’s Party during the 2012 elections.
- President Koroma assured the public on 30 July 2014 that he would establish a Presidential Task Force on Ebola with a Special Account into which all donations would be deposited from all and sundry, including corporate entities, individuals and organizations, for the fight against the Ebola Disease. The President gave his word to the nation that this Special Account would be judiciously managed and applied under your direct authority. Following this assurance, huge donations from various sources went into that Account and some passed through your hands in the full glare of media publicity. The Audit Report of this Special Account now alleges, inter alia, that the management and supervision of the Special Account by the Presidential Task Force has been either wholly insufficient or has fallen considerably below public expectation.
- There was systemic non-adherence of established procurement rules and procedures and inadequate control of disbursements of public funds. Recommendations from previous audit reports on the Consolidated Revenue Fund have not being implemented at all or are completely ignored under President Koroma’s Government.
- The comments by Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament regarding his avowed exclusion of public discussion of the Auditor-General’s Report on the Ebola Funds are tantamount to a denial of the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in our National Constitution and should therefore be frowned upon by all, they simply have no place in our modern democracy.
- A Special Judicial Commission headed by a Chairman, preferably a Senior Judge from the United Kingdom appointed by the British Government be set up to scrutinize the report. This is vital for restoring both our national and international credibility especially in light of the adverse international publicity that the current Audit Report has engendered since its publication.
- A further audit should be carried out on the management of the Ebola Funds from November 2014 until Sierra Leone is declared by the WHO as free of the Ebola Virus.
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Mr. Maada junta Bio I actually support your concerns about the Ebola financial audit, it appears as if you are coming as a clean man. We appreciate your political concern. But anyway we should also audit and scrutinize your role with Mr. Abass Bundu a recalcitrant in the Sierra Leone passport deals with the Chinese. The huge amount of money you cleared and escape to Ghana and live a flamboyant life style while we Sierra Leoneans were eating bulgur. Let’s dig in also about your brothers role in the war. Your elder sister also rule with Foday Sankoh. Let’s dig everything so that we will know who is who. We want to know who love sweet Salone.