News Story

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT: Hon. Alpha Kanu's determination (aided by the suspicious acquiescence of Dr. Soccoh Kabia, who has failed to condemn Alpha Kanu) to squeeze out a World Bank contract by hook or crook from the Ministry of Health for EMZOR is seemingly unstoppable. His actions at instigating the sacking of consultants and other Ministry of Health officials for refusing to honour his corrupt bidding of forcing the Ministry of Health to grant the contract to EMZOR are unethical and negate President Koroma's pledge to Sierra Leoneans and the International community of zero tolerance for corruption and the fact that there would be no "sacred cows" in his administration. The New People is equally perturbed that the Anti-Corruption Commission that should be proactively pursuing these obvious leads has failed in its obligation to Sierra Leoneans to root out corruption and fiduciary waste. Fresh investigations into the matter have yielded a trove of dirty acts.

Competent sources within The Ministry of Health and a source within State House have both independently confirmed that the World Bank had suggested that bids for procurement be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee of FIVE persons, comprising two representatives from the Institutional Reform and Capacity Building Project sector (IRCBP), two representatives from the Ministry of Health, one procurements specialist from the Minsitry of Health itself. The entire evaluation process was to be vetted by a representative from the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) and another representative from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Evidently, this bidding and procurements process would ensure openness, transparency, and fairness. Evidently, Hon. Alpha Kanu is averse to this level of transparency and decency.

The said bids that have triggered off this drug scandal for which Hon. Alpha Kanu has been performing his melodramatic and ridiculous skit about not being Don Corleone or whatever was a sub-sector project worth only $600,000 US Dollars for the supply of drugs to the Reproductive and Child Health Project (RCHP). This was leant for the supply of drugs to local councils. Open bids were invited with teh evaluation committee as described above overseeing the process.

After the submission of bids, the Evaluation Committee met to open and assess all bids with World Bank guidelines of transparency in mind. The least responsive bidder in this case quoted US$1.6 million although the entire project was worth only US$600,000 for drugs. In such a case, the Ministry could exercise due discretion by reducing the quantity of drugs, so that the lowest responsive bidder could fall within the threshold of available funds. This would mean that the Minsitry would award the contract to the least responsive bidder requesting that it supply US$600,000 worth of bid to the Minsitry of Health for the RCHP project.

In comes Alpha Kanu. First, the Nigerian firm, whose interests he is ruthlessly pursuing, EMZOR, had quoted a whopping sum of US$4.6 million. Obviously, the evaluation committee, looking at its mandate and considering the process of fairness in allocating the bid had refused to recommend the astronomical US$4.6 million bid presented by EMZOR. Furious about this, Hon. Alpha Kanu requested to know who had supervised the evaluation process. He identified Mr. Henry Kuyembeh, who politely explained that even though he is a citizen of Sierra Leone, he is a consultant for the World Bank and due diligence dictates that he follow the very strict and clear guidelines set by the World Bank for the evaluation process. Hon. Alpha Kanu insisted that Mr. Kuyembeh reverse the decision of the evaluation committee and grant a US$4.6 million dollar contract to EMZOR nonetheless. Mr. Kuyembeh refused to do so on the grounds that the act would compromise his professional standing with the World Bank and flout the clear guideliness set by the World Bank for the evaluation of bids for the RCHP. Hon. Alpha Kanu then asked the Establishment Secretary, Dr. Julius Sandi, to immediately send Mr. Henry Kuyembeh on leave pending his sacking. Alpha Kanu then requested that the Minsitry of Health's Dr. Soccoh Kabia immediately forward a request for the World Bank's "No Objection of process" -which means that the World Bank would not stand in the way of any decisions taken by the Ministry of Health after the sacking of Mr. Henry Kuyembeh.

The Request for the World Bank's No Objection of the process was sent. Dr. Soccoh Kabia has been elusive on the issue,and this may point to his complicity in the whole affair. The World Bank refused to provide the No Objection to process - automatically stopping Dr. Soccoh Kabia and Hon. Alpha Kanu from reversing the transparent action of the evaluation committee and granting the bid instead to EMZOR.

Livid that his corrupt actions had been seemingly thwarted by Mr. Henry Kuyembeh's insistence on the doing the right thing, Hon. Alpha Kanu ordered that he be immediately fired from being Procurement Manager in the Ministry of Health. Hon. Alpha Kanu, with the possible complicity of Dr. Soccoh Kabia, then insisted that the evaluation committee reconvene immediately and reconsider the award of the RCHP contract and rubber-stamp his State House directive to award a US$4.6 million dollars to EMZOR. Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Mr. Abdul Tejan-Cole was briefed on these developments, but he has yet to do anything about the unfair removal of Mr. Henry Kuyembeh and the crude hack-job by Hon. Alpha Kanu in attempting to wrest control of the bidding process and grant the US$4.6million dollar contract to EMZOR.

Alarmed at this blatant act of corruption by the Presidential and Public Affairs minister and the silence of the President's office and the Anti-corruption commission on the matter, the World Bank Task Team Leader and the Senior Procurement Specialist suggested that all procurement activities related the RCHP be transferred to IRCBP immediately, as the Ministry of Health no longer has the capacity to manage the procurement process.

This would still mean that the evaluation process initially set by the World Bank which would be overseen by the NPPA and the ACC would still be applied to any subsequent evaluation of bids. However, Hon. Alpha Kanu, still determined to get the US$4.6 million dollar contract for EMZOR, has instructed the permanent secretary, Ministry of Health, to exclude the ACC and NPPA from the evaluation process. The permanent secretary has bragged to an inside New People source that Hon. Alpha Kanu has promised some perquisites if he can pull this contract off for EMZOR without the intervention of the World Bank.

With the stage now set, and with the few honest men in the Minsitry of Health fired from the job while Hon. Alpha Kanu has now passed on his directive to the permanent secretary for the Minsitry of Health, it would seem that he will get his way at last. Dr. Soccoh Kabia has underlined his complicity in this corrupt act by not only failing to defend Mr. Henry Kuyembeh for standing up for transparency against the bully-boy tactics of Hon. Alpha Kanu, but he has suspended the award process for 3 months pending what he refers to as a period for review. It would seem that this period would be time sufficient for Hon. Alpha Kanu to pull off this US$4.6 million dollar heist.

With this pending gloom, the only line of defence would be the Institutional Reform and Capacity Building Project on whom rests the obligation to ensure transparency and openness. The New People was unable to speak to anyone in the IBCRP as the staff indicated very categorically that their role as professional consultants and independent monitors does not permit them to comment on host government operations and other tasks. They instead referred The New People to their press officer who has been out of touch since yesterday. The New People therefore implores the IBRCP to maintain the very high standards it has set for itself and hopes that the professional and untarnished image of the staff would prevail in stopping Hon. Alpha Kanu from carrying out this daylight heist. THE NEW PEOPLE ALSO URGES THE WORLD BANK TO ENSURE THAT IT STOPS HON. ALPHA KANU. ALTHOUGH THE NEW PEOPLE HAS BEEN UNABLE TO CONTACT STAFF AT IRCBP, IT IS CONFIDENT THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THEIR UNTARNISHED IMAGE IN UNDERTAKING THEIR PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.