By Kemo Cham and Septimus Senessie
There has been an outpouring of condemnation of the suspension of the Mayor of Koidu, Saa Emerson Lamina.
Civil society activists and politicians from both the SLPP and APC have questioned the “illegal” procedure followed to effect the decision.
Mayor Lamina was suspended by the Office of the President following a request by the Minister of Local Government, Diana Konomanyi. He has rejected the decision, describing it as “unlawful and politically motivated.”
He said the Minister did not follow the correct produces in reaching the controversial decision.
Campaign:
The activists and politicians warn that the removal of the mayor had the potential to disrupt the fragile peace in the district.
Berns Komba Lebbie, Programmes Coordinator of the Leadership Efficiency and Advocacy for Development, told Politico that it was illegal that the mayor was suspended without a two-thirds majority of councillors as provided for by law.
“[It] is illegal and has the greater potential to break the fragile peace of the district,” he said, adding that they would reject the suspension of the elected mayor by an appointed official, a reference to the minister. He vowed that if the decision was not rescinded, they would embark on a public campaign to shore up support against the “illegal way” the government suspended their “democratically-elected mayor.”
Councillor Mariama Bayoh, speaking on behalf of the four-member opposition SLPP bench at the council, condemned the procedure leading to the suspension of the mayor.
APC Councillor, Kai Lawrence Mbayoh, said the suspension of the mayor could not be unconnected to the “deep rooted malice” the minister had developed for Lamina since he took office in 2012, after he (Mayor Lamina) showed his allegiance to the now sacked Vice President Sam Sumana.
Mbayoh believes the removal of the mayor started on the day Sam-Sumana was ousted, alleging that in December last year, Konomanyi attempted to have councillors sign a petition demanding the resignation of Mr Lamina. Only five out of 16 councillors signed at that time, Mbayoh told Politico. Konomanyi could not be reached for her reaction to these allegations.
In the letter of suspension to the mayor, written by Ms Konomanyi, the Mayor is to relinquish his office and hand over all relevant documents to his Chief Administrator, pending investigations over a series of allegations of maladministration and financial impropriety.
Among other things, his administration is accused of withdrawing money from council accounts without following procedure, as well as failure to account for over 150 receipt books.
Lamina told Politico that he was at a meeting of Mayors and Council Chairmen in Makeni where he received his suspension letter. He said only councillors had the right to remove a mayor, with a two-thirds majority vote, citing Section 12 of the Local Council Act of 2004 to defend his position.
“I want to consider this letter of suspension by the Local Government Minister as a test to my credibility and integrity that I have maintained for the past many years,” he said.
Lamina argued that all issues raised in the letter were purely administrative which had “little or nothing” to do with the political wing of the Council which he heads.
The letter also accuses his administration of accruing liabilities to the tune of over Le500Million. But he said he inherited those liabilities.
The mayor also argued, in response to allegations of procurement violations, that the procurement laws of the country clearly stated that a mayor was not a member of the procurement committee. He said the Chief Administrator at the time, who had since been redeployed, was prudent enough to do his job professionally thereby involving third parties, including the media and civil societies, as well as other core staff on issues like the disposal of used assets, another issue mentioned in Konomanyi’s suspension notification letter.
Mayor Lamina who's speaking in Freetown, said he was looking forward to returning home to resume his work.
“The people of Koidu are waiting to receive me and I will go and continue on my job,” he said.
The mayor said while he wasn’t averse to accountability, he was certain that this action by the minister was purely taken out of malice. He admitted the relationship between the two had not been cordial for the last two years, citing four occasions when he was allegedly snubbed by the minister whenever he attempted to greet her.
“In all of these I have vowed to keep my integrity clean,” he said.
History
Lamina made history when he was elected mayor of Koidu in 2012 at the age of 35 years on an APC ticket. Fracas within the party in the district began to appear visible to the public shortly after the controversial removal of former Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana.
Lamina, a nephew of the sacked VP, is thought to have been against that decision by President Ernest Bai Koroma, although he (mayor) wouldn’t be drawn into that.
Armed Police:
One of the Municipal Police officers at the Koidu Council, Musa Koroma, told Politico about the presence of armed OSD police officers at the council building. He said they didn’t speak to anyone.
He said the officers normally assigned to the Mayor’s residence have been withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Mayor Lamina had expressed concern over his safety, following an attack on him on 16 February while he was on a live radio programme. No arrests have so far been made despite him identifying the three alleged assailants.
Following that attack in which his vehicle’s windscreen was broken, he wrote a letter to the Inspector General of police for personal protection to which he has so far received no response.
Police spokesman ASP Ibrahim Kamara told Politico he wasn’t aware of the request for protection but he said if he wasn’t provided with one it must be that the police felt he was safe.
(C) Politico 01/03/16
