By Mustapha Kamara
Executive Director of Heal Sierra Leone, a local nongovernmental organisation, says they will sue the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) for allegedly breaching an agreement to broadcast an emergency teaching TV programme.
Joseph Sannoh told Politico that the state broadcaster had agreed to broadcast the programme for four months but weeks into the agreement the corporation terminated it, hence the legal action.
He claimed that SLBC had received Le 20 million from his organisation as part payment of a total of Le 112 million.
“According to the Memorandum of Understanding, SLBC should inform us one month before the agreement is terminated. But they suddenly suspended our teaching programme, citing orders from above,” the executive director said.
In a letter dated 8 December, 2014, a law firm acting for Heal Sierra Leone instructed the broadcaster to pay Le 1.4 billion which they say the alleged breach had cost their client.
The firm says if the corporation fails to pay the said amount “we shall have no alternative but to carry out pre-emptory instruction to institute action against the institution for the said claim, plus interest and cost of the action,” Abdulai and Associate Chamber said in the letter.
Meanwhile, the Director General of SLBC, Gbanabom Hallowell, denied the corporation had breached any agreement with the NGO. “We still respect the agreement so I wonder why Heal Sierra Leone should take SLBC to court for breach of contract,” Hallowell said.
He nonetheless said SLBC had consulted its lawyers to respond to the allegations in court.
© Politico 11/12/14
