By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The suspended Auditor General of the Audit Service Sierra Leone, Lara Taylor-Pearce has, in a press statement dated 14th July 2024, accused the Supreme Court of depriving her to publicly defend herself, against what she said were allegations against her.
Taylor-Pearce in the press statement was reacting to a release from the Office of the Press Secretary at State House which gave directives to the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice to initiate the necessary procedure for the removal of the suspended Auditor General.
According to the press statement, Taylor-Pearce had given a “detailed” written response to the case against her but that there was no opportunity given to publicly defend herself against those allegations which she said never came up during the public Tribunal.
Taylor-Pearce said there was no evidence adduced nor were any witnesses called to support any of the allegations stated in the case presented to them in June 2022, while protesting her innocence saying “The Tribunal hearings were public, and members of the public who were present at those settings are aware that the only matters brought up pertaining to me as Auditor General, during the twenty-one-month period, had to do with their party verification issues for Compliance Audit and a regular audit management procedure for another audit.”
She however noted in the release that there had been no interference with her job, emphasizing her innocence. “I want it to be known that as a professional accountant with over thirty years of unblemished career, I have always carried out my roles with the utmost professionalism, care, diligence and integrity.”
The release went on to explain that the suspended Auditor General had never leaked out any information used in the audit service or during the process of carrying out her job while she was in office. “Those who have been leaking information now carry the burden of knowing that their actions whether deliberate or otherwise, has resulted in the castigation of an innocent person, and they now must examine themselves, just as those who gave false testimony to the Tribunal,” it adds.
The Office of the Press Secretary at State House issued a press statement dated 12th June this year which directed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to initiate the necessary procedure for the removal of the suspended Auditor General, Lara Taylor-Pearce, pursuant to Section 1137 (7)(b) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone 1991.
The press statement from State House went on to direct the Board of the Audit Service for the removal of the suspended Deputy Auditor General, Tamba Momoh.
The Director of Public Prosecution, Osman Kanu in a government weekly press briefing last week said the tribunal’s report will be sent to Parliament seeking the removal of the Taylor-Pearce, as recommended by the tribunal.
The Auditor General and her Deputy were suspended on 11 November 2021 for alleged professional misconduct while they were in office, and a tribunal was subsequently set up to investigate Taylor-Pearce and her Deputy Tamba Momoh.
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