News Story

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDNET: The explanation from the Presidential press secretary was as shallow as ever and as sparse on detail as is his wont. Sheka Tarawallie, in his rush to powder up this odious and unethical act that has cost the state of Sierra Leone more than one billion Leones at a time when the majority of Sierra Leoneans are suffering extreme hardship, is as unacceptable as the deed itself. In his serial and perfunctory presidential press release, he notes that "the catering contract for the Independence Day celebrations awarded to Paladio Restaurant cost far less than one billion five hundred million leones (Le1.5 billion) as alleged" and that "there were a total of five catering contracts awarded to different service providers, each of which received less than twenty million leones (Le 20 million)." He further points out that "State House received less than one hundred and fifty million leones (Le150 million) for the total cost of all the Independence celebrations" and that "Paladio Restaurant, like all the others, was awarded the contract because they presented the lowest bid for the activity, and the President never interfered with the process at any stage."

But this trite and ambiguous statement raises more questions than answers. State contracts are awarded, signed, and paid out through the fiscal management system of the country. Paper work in the possession of The New People indicates very clearly that the total value of the contract awarded to the sister of President Ernest Koroma, Ms. Admire Koroma, was far in excess of Le20million. The New People challenges the presidential press secretary to present documents supporting his misleading statement that Paladio Restaurant received a contract valued at less than Le20million.

Sheka Tarawallie's ambiguous statement that State House received less than Le150million for spending on food and drinks for Independence by APC functionaries does not also disprove the FACT that the APC government spent far in excess of Le150million on the independence day celebrations. In fact, the deliberately misleading statement fails to cover up the odious trail of unethical conduct that went into the financing of the celebration.

In addition to the President's sister, the few other women who received contracts are APC party stalwarts, thereby ruling out any possibility that the contracts were fairly and openly awarded. Sheka Tarawallie's trite press release again fails to gloss over this fact.

This event adds yet another misgiving that the President is really serious about his so-called attitudinal change and war on corruption when he cannot even afford to be clear and transparent about contracts granted to his own sister. Perhaps the international community should pay close attention to the serial failures of this government in achieving anything in the so-called battle against corruption. The New People will continue to try to contact the Anti-corruption commission to see whether there is any further information about these unethical contracts. This would be second time a whopping contract has been awarded to the President's sister in very dubious circumstances.