Le 4,300,000,000 Old Leones: Divulged to the Media by Six Corrupt Government Officials by the Anti-Corruption Commissioner of Sierra Leone Francis Ben Kaifala

By Abdul Rahman Bangura-

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS (NADN) Freetown, Sierra Leone– In his speech at the Press Conference held at the ACC Headquarters in Freetown, the Commissioner stated, six individuals that are currently under the investigation of the ACC net, have returned the said amount by officials working for the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) and the Ministry of Finance.

Kaifala emphasized on the commission’s efforts in fighting corruption and of having recovered huge sums of money since he became Commissioner of the ACC. “The team at ACC doesn’t sleep,” he noted.

In giving a holistic update on cases the ACC is investigating, he said the wife of the Clerk of Parliament of Sierra Leone – Abibatu Paran Tarawally had paid “in full” 151,000 New Leones (one hundred and fifty-one thousand) for salaries she received for the nineteen months even though she never reported for work. Kaifala said it is not wrong to employ relatives, but there are due processes to be followed, he remarked. He highlighted; the President will take administrative action over the Clerk’s corruption case.

He similarly mentioned a case connected to the National Revenue Authority (NRA), in which over Forty-five Billion Old Leones were stolen through a bank by one Salim Mansaray and others, noting that Mansaray has fled to Dubai.

” We are trying to take steps to get him,” he said, and that the other people who were involved are here and will be held accountable. He maintained that they were going to try Salim Mansary in absentia.

On the matter involving one Fredrick Caulker, the ACC boss said Caulker conspired with “some people” to take out 1.6 billion Old Leones (one billion, six hundred million) that should have gone into NRA account. “That investigation is going on,” he said, but also stated that Caulker has fled to America.

He exhorted his staff at the ACC not to be angry at the things being said about them by some people, noting that some individuals whom the public has trust in have been behaving “terribly” for so long. “Trust is not there,” he emphasized.

He maintained that the country is on the verge of “change,” as they are determined to fight against corruption, saying it may be slow now.

“The government has given us the responsibility of fighting corruption,” he said.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Bangura Reports, Africa Correspondent