By Mabinty M. Kamara
A certain organization is currently registering under very suspicious circumstances, residents of Freetown for a fee of Le 20,000. The process is taking place at the Arc Community Centre located over the well- known Samba Gutter at Robert Street in Freetown.
The organization could only be identified as ‘ECO6 Empowerment fund’ which was written on the form being sold to the people in the pretext of registering for a certain cash transfer project, that could see each beneficiary getting Le 1,000,000 (one million) on a monthly basis over an eight month period. This was disclosed by a cross section of the many women and men of all ages who were clamoring at the door of the community centre yesterday 12th October 2021 to get registered.
When Politico visited the registration centre, many of the people there, including those who had completed the registration form, did not understand what the scheme was all about but were there to take advantage of the offer if it turns out to be genuine.
Glena Cole had no faith in the scheme yet she had completed the registration form at the time Politico approached her. “They said the money is from ECOWAS and that they will give us Le1, 000,000 every month. They have collected my telephone number and created an email account for me. That is where they said the bank will contact me when the money is available,” she said.
She said she was just trying her luck, although not 100 percent confident in it any way, more so there is no way they can contact the organization.
On the contrary, Isatu Jambai was very confident in the said project, noting that criticism and lack of trust caused many to miss out on the NACSA COVID-19 relief cash transfer which provided funds for vulnerable during this pandemic. “I am here to register because I believe that the money will come no matter when and how much will be given to me. In the end I will appreciate it afterwards, it’s free. My sister, I did not work for it,” she said. When asked about the Le20, 000 being invested, she said she was ready to take the risk.
All Ahmad Conteh could say about the process was that it’s a World Bank funded project. “They said the Money is from the World Bank. So I came to try my luck. This Le20, 000, I should use to buy food but this is Sierra Leone where anything is possible. So I am leaving everything to God as I invest the money,” he said.
However, the Information and Communications Manager of the National Commission for Social Action (NACSA) George Nyambe Williams denied knowledge of the ongoing registration, noting that all World Bank cash transfer projects in Sierra Leone are done through NACSA. “We do the transfer through banks and we do not collect any money from any beneficiary before, during and after. So I cannot say it's a scam because I know nothing about it, but I must say that it has nothing to do with NACSA cash transfer,” he said.
When Politico approached the personnel at the centre that were conducting the registration, we were referred to one Christopher Momodu identified as the coordinator of the project. When contacted he consented to speak to us about the exercise after some hours but could only later refer us to his Boss who we couldn’t reach via the international number provided. Asked about their office address, all Momodu could say was that he resides at Aberdeen. The form being sold out has no business address or name of contact person.
Despite the murky nature surrounding the entire exercise, with some of the expectant people even unsure of what all of this will lead them to, yet their resolve to try it out, is a manifestation of just how desperate people could be in the face of challenging economic situations.
Copyright © Politico Online 13/10/21
