The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) has the mandate to regulate and develop the road transport industry, including the registration and licensing of vehicles, the licensing of drivers, the prescription of routes for passengers, and good transportation and other matters connected with the foregoing.
The government entity seems to have diverted its interest from serving the public within the confines of its mandate to selfishly milking resources to satisfy the personal interests of some of its top cadre officials.
It was recently twelve individuals, attached to the Management Information System (MIS) department, were arrested and detained at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for fraudulently printing motor drivers’ licenses.
Whilst investigations are ongoing, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday Wednesday 30th March 2022 exposed a money-chopping’ spree at the SLRSA and revealed actions the Commission has taken so far on issues raised in 2019 and 2020 Auditor General’s Reports. “These interventions focused on aspects of possible, or alleged corruption and conducts inconsistent with the provision(s) in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019,” the Commission stated.
The Commission stated the Auditor General’s Report of 2020 highlighted that between 2019 and 2020, top Management and Board Members of the SLRSA, benefited from the sum of Five Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-two Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-two Thousand, One Hundred and Forty-nine Leones, Fifty-two Cents (Le 5,152,462,149.52) through the payment as monthly allowances, whilst they were receiving salaries as staff of other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and also receiving sitting allowances for Board Meetings attended.
The ACC investigation confirms that the Board Members and Management staff of SLRSA were not supposed to be beneficiaries of monthly allowances and therefore, not entitled to such payments. Accordingly, the ACC has recommended strongly that the Authority should refund the total sum of One Billion, Three Hundred and Eighty-six Million, Nine Hundred Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy Leones (Le 1,386,900,970) to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), being the total amount paid to the Board Members and top management staff as monthly allowances. “The practice should also be avoided completely,” the Commission stated. The SLRSA is yet to confirm when it intends to refund the chopped public funds, but sources say the Authority is now looking for ways and means to raise such funds and it has made it clear to top officials involved that it will follow the ACC’s recommendation to the fullest. (Investigations continue).
