By Kemo Cham
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) heeded public calls over the weekend and invited two officials of the House of Parliament for questioning over their suspected involvement in corruption.
Clerk of Parliament, Paran Umar Tarawally and lawmaker Ibrahim Tawa Conteh are expected to report to the (ACC)’s headquarters today, Monday November 25, an official to Politico over the weekend.
The two men, who belong to the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), were invited by the anti-graft agency after an explosive public spat on a national radio station in which they rained allegations and counter-allegations of suspected corruption against each other.
Radio Democracy invited the men to discuss divergent views they shared on the controversial 2020 Finance Act passed on November 12, which gives the President, Vice President and Speaker carte blanche in spending tax payers’ money while on international travels.
Conteh, who represents Constituency 132, is reported to have been the only MP from his party to speak openly against the Act which was passed unanimously. By doing so he broke a tradition in the Sierra Leone parliament where party loyalty tends to supersede national interest.
In the radio discussion on the popular ‘Gud Morning Salone’ programme last week, the two men reportedly accused each other of involvement in unspecified corrupt activities.
Tarawally, a onetime lawmaker who represented Constituency 069 in Bo from 2012 to 2018, was appointed clerk of the House after the 2018 general elections by President Julius Maada Bio.
Tawa, on the other hand, pulled one of the biggest surprises in the elections by winning a seat in Freetown, considered as a strong hold of the All People’s Congress (APC) which was at the time in governance. Much of that performance was credited for his grassroots work with members of his constituents.
But according to Tarawallie, the lawmaker has in fact been less of a saint than many in the public would think. He suggested in the radio discussion that Conteh wasn’t using monies meant for his constituents for their intended purpose.
Conteh’s response raised further questions about corruption in the larger House.
The issue was the single most dominant discussion topic on all Sierra Leonean social media forums for the rest of the day, much of the sympathy directed to the lawmaker for standing up to his party in the interest of the masses.
For some, the issue warranted an investigation on the overall activities of the parliament.
An online petition was mounted seeking to urge the Anti-Corruption Commission to invite the men for questioning.
A spokesman for the Commission told Politico on Saturday that the two men were expected to report to the Commission to answer to questions, although they didn’t give details.
The controversial Finance Act has been one of the most topical subjects in the last two weeks. Reports from parliament at the end of last week indicated that there were moves to amend it.
Opposition lawmakers Dr Kandeh Yumkella of the National Grand Coalition and Mr Daniel Koroma of the APC were reported to be behind a motion seeking to amend section 42 of the Act.
Critics cited the Finance Act 2020 in questioning President Julius Maada Bio’s commitment to his expressed campaign against financial indiscipline.
There were even campaigns mounted on social media urging the president not to sign the piece of legislation to become law.
The Finance Act is a separate legislation that is often passed to pave way for the adoption of the Appropriation Bill (budget).
The move to amend the Act comes as the House on Friday concluded the debate on the 2020 Appropriation Bill which has been committed to the Sub-Appropriation Committees for effective scrutiny of the various budgetary heads and estimates of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). After the scrutiny, a report will then be sent to the House for consideration and eventual adoption.
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