By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Anti-Corruption Commission has confirmed receipt of one hundred and eighty million Leones (old currency) through its non-conviction-based asset recovery process from the Freetown City Council (FCC) as a refund of the monies that were flagged in the 2019 Auditor General’s Report to be ‘inappropriately’ paid from the Council’s funds.
The Audit Report revealed that the FCC ‘inappropriately’ paid the questionable sum to the Head of the Mayor’s Delivery Unit (MDU), Manja Isata Kargbo who the commission referred to as a ‘Non-Staff personnel’ of the Council.
The report prompted action from the anti-graft agency for which a press statement was issued by the Commission in May this year which stated that they had concluded an investigation on FCC centred on issues of over one hundred and eighty million Leones concerning payments of council funds to a staff of the MDU as stated in the Audit Report.
The ACC’s investigation claimed that the MDU was a private unit that did not go through normal administrative procedures and without the recourse of the Local Government Ministry. It added that Kargbo who was the Head of MDU was not properly employed in the Council and that she was singlehandedly handpicked by the Mayor.
The investigation on the MDU further revealed that five hundred United States dollars (500 dollars) were mistakenly paid to the MDU Head by the Foreign and Protocol Officer, which money the Commission said was improperly paid as they quoted the Auditor General’s Report.
The ACC confirmed in its investigations that the monies paid to the Head of the MDU were not consistent with the Local Government Act of 2004 and also quoted other regulations relating to the utilization and management of public funds and resources. It, therefore, recommended a civil recovery process.
In the latest press statement, Commission noted that the ‘interested ‘persons’ paid the said amount to the commission after holding a series of negotiations in that regard.
It noted that since the monies have been paid, the civil recovery process has been completed and the file closed.
Notwithstanding the outcome of the ACC’s investigation, the Public Relations Officer of FCC Koma Hassan Kamara confirmed to Politico that the MDU is still functional.
The ACC has meanwhile reassured the general public that it will not relent in ensuring where necessary, the recovery of ‘stolen’ or ‘inappropriately’ used public funds.
The ACC is an independent institution established for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of graft.
Copyright © Politico Online (29/08/22)
