Our ‘Tik Tok-ian’ First Lady And The ACC
By Mohamed Sankoh (One Drop)
The two teams that I have ever supported, and still supporting, in my whole life are Leone Stars and Eastern Lions aka The Killers. I have never been a fan of any English, Italian, or Spanish team whatsoever because I have always preferred to be home-grown! So, to say that I am over-elated for Leone Stars’ qualification for next year’s African Cup of Nations in Cameroon is an under-exaggeration. I am happy as a lark for our national team!
But now that the euphoria has ebbed and Sierra Leoneans are going about finding their daily bread (and rice), can I ask what is now happening to the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign in the Office of the First Lady? It has been a while, after the Africanist Press’ allegations of misuse of public funds by that Office, that I have not been hearing anything substantial from that Office. All I have been seeing, or hearing, from First Lady Fatima Bio is her pronounced presence on Tik Tok. Has the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign lost steam so much so that our First Lady is now Tik Tok-nised? Or has the Africanist Press’ allegations dampened the First Lady’s resolve to distribute sanitary pads to our less fortunate girls?
And the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seems to have complicated things further for her. In trying to exonerate her Office from some of the allegations levied against it by the Africanist Press, the ACC now appears to be indirectly saying that that Office might be guilty of some of those allegations. In its press release of 18 June 2021, the ACC says it has concluded “probe into issues relating to payments to and expenditure of public funds by the Office of the First Lady of Sierra Leone”.
Apart from most of the laughable conclusions that the ACC highlights, the portion that catches my eyes is where it notes, “That other issues of expenditure, including prudential financial management, procurement issues, the interface between charitable donations to [Fatima Bio’s] office with public funds, etc. will be dealt with within the framework of the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 and, we will be giving due deference to those recommendations and act on them accordingly…” This is where the ACC has indirectly implicated Madam Fatima Bio’s Office and finds itself engaging in what the British press would call “non-denial denial”!
The ACC appears to be denying the Africanist Press’ allegations but not denying the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 that “…serious internal control weaknesses were identified in the management of funds allocated to [Fatima Bio’s] office, mainly due to the lack of competent personnel in the finance division…”
You and I know that the cardinal reason why the ACC was forced to open a probe, in the first place, are because of the allegations of misuse of public funds; the flouting of Procurement processes, and that some of the charitable donations to Madam Fatima Bio’s Office fell on the wayside. It is on record that the ACC has been, and still is, indicting people for flouting Procurement processes which, in the lexicon of the ACC, is tantamount to “conspiracy to commit a corruption offence.” And the Africanist Press also alleges that monies solicited by the Office of the First Lady from corporate institutions, on behalf of the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign, allegedly ended up in the bank account of the Maada and Fatima Bio Foundation in a private bank! Another allegation is that Madam Fatima Bio’s Office has been using state funds like a “drunken sailor” which the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 also confirms.
Those are the specific allegations which the ACC is expected to probe and come up with its findings. But for the ACC to tell us that those allegations “will be dealt with within the framework of the Auditor-General’s Report 2019 and, we [the ACC] will be giving due deference to those recommendations and act on them accordingly…” tells you that something is either fishy or that some of those allegations against Madam Fatima Bio’s Office might have some truths in them. What majority of Sierra Leoneans want the ACC to tell them is whether Fatima Bio’s Office flouted Procurement processes or not; if some of the funds solicited on behalf of the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign indeed ended up in the Maada and Fatima Bio Foundation bank account, and whether state funds were being misused or not. These are the questions we need answers to.
What clearly comes out of the ACC’s press release of 18 June 2021 is the inference that as long as it is Francis Ben Kaifala who is the anti-graft czar, the First Family will always be protected under his watchful watch! Why not? Mr Kaifala is sensible enough to know that he cannot bite the fingers that are still feeding him. He knows that if he messes with the First Lady, he won’t have another opportunity to take a birthday photo with her!
Another thing that also comes out in that press release is that Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma, the wife of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, seems to have been lucky to attend a White House dinner by clinging unto Fatima Bio’s frock (you could pardon my metaphor here)! At least, this is the first conclusion by the ACC that exonerates a high profile APCian at the first shake of the sieve!
And by the way, the building that houses the Office of the First Lady at Goderich, in Freetown, is said to be owned by President Julius Maada Bio. If so, can the First Family tell Sierra Leoneans whether that building is being used free-of-cost or if the State is paying rent for it? This is an issue that has to do with transparency and accountability. If the First Lady could be so gracious and transparent in telling us, through social media, about their “honeymoon” in Lebanon; then a grave matter like whether the Government of Sierra Leone is paying for an office or not should not be a well-kept secret like the formula of Coca-Cola.
And now that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has superficially exonerated our First Lady, Madam Fatima Bio, could she now downgrade her heavy presence on Tik Tok and get down to the “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign proper? Because her Tik Tok karaokes and dancing will not solve the “bread and butter issues” which her husband promised to solve if elected. And besides, those Tik Tok performances are making her look very un-First Lady-ian!
And for the ACC, I will end today’s One Dropian dropping with a quote from Abraham Lincoln which Bob Marley also adopted in one of his lyrics: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”. This quotation is about deception! So, between the ACC and the Bio administration; who is more deceptive?
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