By Beyond Borders Africa -October 2, 2020
By Mohamed Amara Gando
Although Hon. HindoloMoiwoGevao, recently indicated in a BBC interview that there was truth in perception survey reports which named the Sierra Leone parliament as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country, the law-making body is now asking for evidence for perceptions.
The Speaker of Parliament, Dr. AbassChernorBundu has said Parliament will no longer tolerate what he described as “careless talk” from civil society organizations against the law-making body.
He made this statement on 30 September at a press conference that was held at the parliament building at Tower Hill in Freetown to update journalists about two reports that were recently released by the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law and Institute of Good Governance and Reform, indicting Parliament as the third most corrupt institution in Sierra Leone.
Hon. Bundu said the Parliament of Sierra Leone was not a corrupt institution, stating that, “the reports are misleading and outrageous.” He described the reports as “incorrect.” He stressed that the reports made by the two institutions failed to get the proper view of the general public of the country. “The so-called surveys lack substance. They are based on public perception and not reality. And we say clearly and loudly that public perception is not enough bases for an indictment.”
He further stated that the perception was that of “the very few, some might even say infinitesimal number of people who mostly reside in the urban areas. Are CARL and IGR telling this nation that the lives of the people who dwell in the rural areas do not matter?”
The Speaker went on to say that even people in the urban center were not properly captured. “They engaged only 2,619 persons in the case of CARL and only 1,200 persons in the case of IGR. The surveys only focused on few people in few constituencies. Therefore, in a country of over seven million people presently divided into 132 constituencies, CARL engaged an average of approximately 20 persons per constituency while IGR engaged 9 persons per constituency,” Hon. Bundu explained.
He noted that Parliament respects the doctrine of law and that it is also obligated to respect the cardinal principles of openness, transparency and accountability. He said Parliament respects fully its duty to always remain answerable to the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
In his power point presentation, the Director of Research and Parliamentary Studies of the House of Parliament, Gilbert Nabieu told newsmen that when the two reports were released, his department was tasked with the responsibility to do an analysis and to ensure that adequate provision was provided to seek the information needs of the public and members of parliament. “I want to make it abundantly clear that parliament has increased its investment on oversight as more committees are now embarking on oversight. Parliament also organized its first open day and also developed its open government partnership commitment,” he explained.
It could be recalled that CARL and IGR recently released two separate reports in which Parliament was listed as the third most corrupt institution in Sierra Leone. The leadership of the House has denied all the allegations and described the said reports as “bias.”
Department of Public Relations
Parliament of Sierra Leone
+23278495023/+23278426851/+23278697776/+23278032986
