Sierra Leone’s government is to probe the former government and its officials over corruption allegations.
The former government under former President Ernest Koroma is reported to have engaged in series of corrupt dealing.
The country’s President Julius Maada Bio now wants a commission to carry out an investigation.
A statement from the government says “The President has directed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to immediately lead on the establishment of a judge-led Commission of Inquiry.”
Arrests over corruption
Last week Sierra Leone’s former Vice President Victor Foh was arrested on charges of corruption.
Former Mines Minister Minkailu Mansaray was also arrested on similar charges of corruption.
President Julius Maada Bio’s government set up a commission to investigate the previous government over corrupt acts.
The commission claimed there was massive act of corruption under the previous government.
There were also reports of theft of state property and the award of contracts to relatives of government officials.
Saving the economy
Julius Maada Bio who became President this year earlier announced the sacking of all political appointees at the country’s foreign missions.
Those sacked included ambassadors and information attachés. Bio went further to ask all public sector workers who have attained the age of 60 to retire.
Other measures taken by Bio’s government to control public spending include ensuring that “All new contracts by MDAs and public corporations should be cleared by the Ministry of Finance to ensure they do not constitute a financial risk to the national budget.”
Sierra Leone witnessed a brutal, diamond-fuelled civil war in the 1990s and the new president faces a huge task of trying to fix the West African country’s economy, still recovering from the war and recent Ebola epidemic.
Source: Africafeeds.com
