By: Thaimu Bai Sesay
The Parliamentary oversight Committee on Tourism and Cultural Affairs Chaired by Hon. Mohamed Sheriff Rahaman-Coker has on Wednesday 21st February 2024 at Committee Room 1 Parliament Building commenced an investigation hearing into Hotel and Guest Houses operating in the country.
The purpose of engagement, according to the Chairperson, is to ascertain tourism compliance relative to; Residential permit, NASSIT, PAYE, Waste Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, the Minimum Wage, Registration, and License with the Tourism Board.
In his brief remarks, the chairman Rahaman-Coker said the engagement started last year in which hotels and guesthouses were requested by law to submit all relevant documentation to the committee for onward probing. The Chairman said in light of that, the Tourism Committee is mandated by the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone to carry out oversight and checks for compliance and report to the Chamber of Parliament for consideration.
Several Hotels and Guest Houses were in front of the committee for probing. The committee observed that, most of the documentation requested by the committee was not adhered to. Some hotel officials were not properly ready to face the committee.
The chairman and his colleague MPs were not pleased with certain hotels and guest houses but recommended that a future oversight would be embarked upon by the committee to all hotels and guest houses to check for compliance and action be taken against lawbreakers
The tourism committee hearings continue this week and next week and recommendations are to be tabled in the Chamber of Parliament for consideration.
