By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Former President Ernest Bai Koroma and other officials of his administration are set to forfeit their houses following the release of the government White Paper on the recommendations of the Commissions of Inquiry (COI).
At least five properties that were listed under Koroma’s name will be seized because the value of the houses exceeded his official emoluments and earnings as a President during his eleven year tenure, according to the document. His earnings between November 2007 and April 2018, when he occupied the office of the presidency, was Le 4.4 billion.
However, the former President’s Femi Turner Drive property was valued to be more than US$5 million, which is equivalent to more than Le 40 billion, according to the report.
“Mathematical calculations show that the value of assets he acquired during his tenure as President far exceeds his total emolument and legitimate earnings,” a portion of the report states.
A property at Spur Road, Blue Bell is top of the list to be seized after the report states that he denied any connection to its ownership.
Deputy Minister of Justice, Umaru Napoleon Koroma said the property will be “confiscated and forfeited to the state, as ownerless property.”
The property at Spur Road is not the only one he denied, according to the report, which notes that he also denied a house in the Northern city of Port Loko and another house in Gbangba Yilla, Hill Station in Freetown.
However, the house he is currently occupying in the northern city of Makeni is on the list to be confiscated on the grounds that its cost is not commensurate with his earnings.
Evidence from the document also suggested that there was a “questionable financial relationship between the former President and a Chinese Company known as Xinlin Mining (SL) Ltd, bearing some nexus to the property at Robureh in Makeni…” the report states.
The Whitepaper is a response to the recommendations of the report of the Commissions of Inquiry (COI). The Whitepaper alongside the COI reports were officially presented to the President Julius Maada Bio on Thursday by Attorney General, Anthony Brewah
During the presentation of the document at State House, President Bio insisted that all the recommendations will be followed.
He said: “Once and for all, we are determined to draw a line. Public officials must serve with integrity and they must be above reproach at all times. These Commissions were indeed about transparency and accountability and nothing else.”
He added: “Unlike other Commissions, citizens are assured that this Government will fully implement all recommendations.”
This White Paper is a culmination of a long process that was initiated by the Governance Transition Report in 2018 which then established the COI that started in February 2019.
The inquiry focused on President, Vice Presidents, Ministers and other senior government functionaries that misappropriated public funds or acquired assets that were not commensurate to their earnings.
One of the recommendations stated that some of the former officials be barred from holding office. A recommendation government revoked stating in its White Paper that the focus is only on recovering the assets and funds of the state.
Other officials who were included in the report are the former Minister of Finance, Dr Samura Kamara acquired 31 vehicles between 2008 and 2018 when he served in various positions in the Koroma administration, the report stated. He was referred to the ACC for immediate investigation.
Former Minister of Information and Communication, Mohamed Bangura was also named and there was a recommendation that he be prosecuted for false declaration after he claimed that he had US$ 288,000 in his account at HFC Bank.
Ady Macauley one of the lawyers that represented some of those that were investigated by COI described some of the conclusions as “sensational”.
“It is concerning that some of the findings are at variance with the evidence that were presented to the Commissions of Inquiry. We have seen sensational conclusions in the Whitepaper,” he said.
Macauley is one of the lawyers of former President Koroma and also represented a number of other former government officials; he said they haven’t been served courtesy copies of the documents.
Asked whether they will accept the findings, Macauley said their challenge to the “illegality” of the commission still stands.
“The commission does not have the functional competence so whatever comes out of it will not be recognized,” he told Politico.
But also added that they will be ready to appeal whatever action is taken by the state.
Civil society activist, Ibrahim Tommy said how implementation of the recommendation rolls out following the launch of the Whitepaper, is key.
“You expect the government to enforce it (COI recommendations), but enforcement is usually a problem with these processes. And sometimes enforcement is done but years down the line it is reversed so we will see how that goes,” the Executive Director of Center for Accountability and Rule of Law said.
But the COI report did not implicate all former government officials. Some of those that were not cleared by the commission’s investigation are former Minister of Finance, Momodu Lamin Kargbo, former Minister of Health and Sanitation, Zainab Hawa Bangura, Deputy Minister of Finance, Momodu Vandi, Professor Monty Jones and a host of others.
A common conclusion on all these former government officials stated that they did not maintain a standard of life above that which was commensurate to his (their) official emolument during the period when they held office.
The focus of the report was not just on politicians. Corporate bodies, contractors, executives and even artists have been named in different chapters and have been ordered to repay monies.
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