February 11, 2021
By Mohamed M. Sesay
Members of the Public Account Committee (PAC) in Parliament have yesterday the 10th of February, concluded Public hearing on the Special Audit Report on the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC). The committee is now set to table their report in the Well of Parliament.
In his presentation during the public hearing, the Deputy Auditor General of the Audit Service Tamba Momoh said that, during the auditing process, they made a written request to the NaCOVERC through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation asking for support for several items such as; one hundred and ten phones, forty-seven laptops computer, 50KVA Generator, internet moderns, etc.
He added that when the Audit team went for the verification of the 47 laptops computers, two computers did not meet the specification and that led to the conclusion of the Audit Report that the computers were missing.
He continued that the records that the Audit Team inspected included several donations made by the Chinese Government towards the fight against Covid-19 including the 50KVA Generator through the ministry of Health and Sanitation. He further stated that after the then Minister of Health Professor Alpha Wurie signed for these items received from the Chinese Ambassador, the Audit team then went to the Medical Store to verify the items but the generator was already being moved to Zimmi Community Health Center.
He said the Audit Service, therefore, sent an Audit Team to Zimmi in order to verify the 50 KVA generator, adding that when the team went to Zimmi they only met a 65 KVA Generator instead of the initial 50KVA Generator Donated.
He also said that an intern at the Zimmi told the Audit Team that the 65KVA Generator they met at the Zimmi community health center was donated sometime in December 2019, wherein the actual 50KVA Generator donated by the Chinese government happened in April 2020.
He said they therefore, concluded that the 65KVA Generator they met at Zimmi was not the Generator they were looking for and therefore said the Generator is missing.
Responding to the Deputy Auditor General, the former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation Abdul R. Fofanah said that, the Generator that was donated by the Chinese was a 50KVA Generator on the document, adding that because of the nature of the Covid-19 they needed to have all the strategic entering point well protected with light so that they could be able to do testing. He said they authorized for the Generator to be taken to Zimmi and also made the necessary facilitation for a mechanic to install said machine int Zimmi.
He continued that, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) later contacted the Chinese for clarity on the Generator and confirmed that the 65KVA Generator installed at Zimmi was indeed that Generator donated by them.
According to it him, it was the Chinese that made the mistake to have wrongfully indicated on the document that the Generator was a 65KVA Generator.
In his contribution, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament who also doubles as the Chairman of the Public Account Committee Hon. Segepoh Thomas said that, there only confusion with regards to the generator was the missing link wherein on the document is 60KVA Generator and what is installed Zimmi Village is 65KVA.
He also intimated that the other confusion surrounding the generator was that the donation was done in April 2020 whereas the Generator was taken to Zimmi in December 2019. He also said they as the committee would recommend to the ACC to further investigate the generator in question.
‘’These are the two issues that have caused this kind of confusion while on the document we have 50KVA we are having 65 KVA, and somebody there is saying the generator came in December and we know the donation was done in April. These are the confusions that we have. I think the only competent authority to look at the confusion and come up with something concrete is the ACC’’. He said
Hon. Thomas concluded by thanking the Auditor General, the Deputy Auditor-General, and all the Ministries, Department and Agencies who were named in the Audit Report for constantly being available for the Public Hearing on the Audit Report. He further encouraged NaCOVERC to take note of the loopholes identified by the Audit Report especially taking actions against its staff whose negligence might have led to the conclusion of the Audit Report.
