There are indications that the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament would meet in about ten days time to start their enquiry into the Auditor General's report for 2013 and the recent report into the management of funds used in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
In a brief discussion with the deputy speaker of parliament, who is also chair of PAC on Monday, he said that in line with established procedure, his committee would consider the reports in a "transparent, fair and open process devoid of any prejudice." Chernor Bah told Politico that because of growing public concern about the issues raised in the Auditor General's report on the management of Ebola funds, "we might consider starting with that report before going into the annual report from the Auditor General (2013).”
He said the first meeting of the PAC would be about setting ground rules and announcing the way the committee would carry out its work.
Politico also understands that the Public Accounts Committee and the Auditor General's office are meeting in a joint retreat on Wednesday at Barmoi Hotel in Freetown to discuss their work and determine the way forward.
It's not clear whether the Auditor General herself would be in attendance at the public hearings.
Meanwhile, the Chief Whip of parliament, Claude Kamanda, Monday cautioned journalists against reporting anything on the Ebola audit report at this stage.
According to the Constituency 95 MP, the document is not yet public as it was only laid in parliament for their attention. He said the Public Accounts Committee has to look into it first and make their own report public before it could be reported on.
© Politico 17/02/15
