November 26, 2021
Albert Baron Ansu
Winstanley-Johnson, a short-lived Mayor of Freetown has disclosed that it is references to grand corruption under former President Koroma that worries his party most. Winstanley-Johnson made the disclosure in an opinion article in Awoko Newspaper this week; in the course of crying down the contributions of civil society organizations to the debate on the suspended Auditor General. According to the former Mayor, continuous references to grand corruption under the past APC regime were a calculated ploy by the some organizations to “mitigate the sins” of the SLPP. The former Mayor named IGR, Ibrahim Tommy of CARL, and the ACC as part of the ploy. Winstanley-Johnson also, named the BBC’s Umaru Fofanah as one of those in the habit of making references to corruption under the previous APC regime.
Reacting to the claims by the former Mayor, the Secretary General of the ruling SLPP told this medium that Winstanley-Johnson has simply disclosed that what the APC is deeply uncomfortable with are mentions of corruption under their past government. According to Secretary General Umaru Napoleon Bangura, references to grand corruption under the past APC regime are going to remain unavoidable for a very long time. Secretary General Umaru Napoleon Bangura says that the APC offers the best examples of how to wreck a country through corruption. “The $25m paid by former President Koroma to a Lebanese man called Mohamed Wanza for a gun-boat which he himself never saw, will remain as on the most heinous crimes any government has ever committed against their people in Africa”, the Secretary General said.
Umaru Napoleon Bangura called on all those who love Sierra Leone to constantly keep talking about corruption under the past APC government. “We are in fact going to make it part of our elections strategy to constantly show the APC as a gang of thieves, disguised as a political party”, the SLPP’s Secretary General said.
The head of CARL Ibrahim Tommy said he is not bothered by the opinion of Winstanley Johnson and that such comment from him cannot deter him from stating the fact. He said things were bad yesterday will remain bad now. He cited the sacking of Justice Allan Halloway, without being tried was wrong that he had alluded.
Executive Director of Institute of Governance Reform Andrew Lavalie spoke in the same vein indicating that there is always need to look back at the past mistakes to correct the present and shape the future. He questioned what the APC would want to shield from the public to be disturbed by the occasional reference to their past misdeed.
Sierra Leone still lacks a modern hospital because NASSIT under the past APC regime paid over Le.600 billion to a fake company called Sisimi Foundation, and they money was chopped. The past APC government allowed contractors to walk away with millions of dollars without doing any job. A case in point was the $3m contract awarded by the Transport Ministry for the purchase of 40 vehicles for the judiciary. Another case in point was when TS and Co and TEDA, fronted by Thomas Koroma the brother of former President Koroma were paid $504, 287 by NATCOM without any contract agreement.
Political commentators say references to corruption under the past regime in particular, need to be always made to reveal patterns, scope, and sizes of corruption; so that the people can learn from it today.