Key highlights on the ministry of information and civic education press conference

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Ministry of Information and Civic Education's Press Conference 23th January 2024 KEY HIGHLIGHTS ♦Deputy Minister of Information and Civic Education Yusuf Keketoma Sandi Esq. Updated the public on the 50 buses from the Sierra Leone Integrated and Resilient Urban Mobility Project which is a $50 Million grant from the World Bank. The Deputy Minister refuted claims that the buses cost $ 1 million each and provided accurate figures as to the cost of the buses. According to the Minister, each bus costs $119,000 which sums up to $5.950million for the 50 buses. Additional $1.547million for import and other duties. This gives a total of $ 7.497 million for the bus component in the IRUMP project. ♦ Deputy Minister informed the public that, the vision of the project is to have 200 buses to serve other areas. He said these buses will run from Calaba Town to the Bus Station and Lumley to the Bus Station. However, he assured other areas like Waterloo to soon have their buses as more private investors are expected to bring in more buses. ♦ Deputy Minister outlined some of the components of the project. He mentioned the 50 buses, Traffic Signalization, Street lights, pedestrian bridges, rehabilitation of major roads in the western area, Market and Transit Point construction in Lumley, construction of Bus stops in the East and West Corridors, etc. ♦ Deputy Minister addressed concerns about Former President Koroma's exile claim. He categorically clarified that the government is not aware of former President Koroma going into exile. He informed the public that, former President Koroma is outside the country on medical grounds and the matter has been adjourned to March 6, 2024. ♦The Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission Francis Ben Kaifala updated the public on ACC's operations. He started by saying, that the fight against corruption is built on four pillars; Investigation, Prosecution, Public Education, and Prevention. According to the Commissioner, all of them go together with none of them subordinate to the other. ♦ The ACC Boss hailed the work of the commission over the years, he referenced local and international corruption watchdogs who have rated Sierra Leone's fight against corruption very high. He mentioned the consortium of Public Management and Finance, MCC, Afrobarometer, Transparency International, etc to have rated Sierra Leone very high. Notable among these is the MCC ratings where Sierra Leone moved from a failed position in 2017 to an excellent position from 2018 to 2023. ♦According to the ACC commissioner, he said, they currently have 36 cases in court and 12 are reserved for judgment. He disclosed that officials of the current government are amongst those 12 awaiting judgment. He was saying this to respond to claims that the ACC only prioritized recovery when it involved government officials. ♦ In the matter related to officials of the Ministry of Finance and SLRA who diverted Nle6.5 million of State funds into a fictitious account in Kabala, the ACC said they recovered from them Nle4.3 million. ♦ACC commissioner confirmed that the commission has been investigating the alleged money laundering of former President Koroma and they will update the public when the investigation concludes. ♦On the alleged conflict of Interest matter of the Clerk of Parliament and his wife, the commissioner revealed that, during the investigation, the commission was told by the Clerk that, the wife worked for 10 months but the records at the Accountant General's office showed she worked for 19 months. As a bail condition, Mr. Paran Tarawallie and his Wife returned Nle131,000. He however said the payment does not absorb anyone with liability and responsibility. He said the matter is still under investigation. ♦The ACC has no power to remove anyone from office that the commission is investigating. It is only when the matter is charged to the court that the individual can be asked to vacate the office. ♦The Open Government Partnership Coordinator, National Council for Civic Education and Democracy Hannah Hamida Jimmy talked about the parliamentary reforms where citizens can watch a debate or attend it. She said the country now has an open and inclusive parliament with even a ramp for persons with disability. Open Parliament rated Sierra Leone's parliament 3rd in Africa to be transparent and accessible. ♦Director, Financial Intelligence Unit David Borbor updated the public about Super Advertis. He said they have instructed the mobile companies to freeze 30 agents' accounts that operated with Super Advertis. The amount sums up to Nle3.4 million. He also disclosed that the company is owned by one Chinese. He assured the public that, the investigation is ongoing to unearth more money and his office will come back to the public on the way forward.