Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally, Clerk of the Sierra Leone Parliament, has acknowledged the receipt of the highly awaited Special Tribunal Report regarding the investigation of the suspended Auditor-General, Lara Taylor Pearce, and her deputy Tamba Momoh. The Clerk confirmed that the Attorney-General, Mohamed Lamin Tarawally, had transmitted the report to Parliament. The Clerk only became aware of the document on Tuesday, 27th August 2024, as he had been absent from the office for several days.
The Clerk clarified that the Attorney-General did not officially present or table the report, as mistakenly announced by the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernoh Bah at the Future for Peace and National Cohesion Townhall. Instead, the Attorney-General sent the report to Parliament. Furthermore, the Clerk emphasized that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice would table the report on Friday, 30th August 2024, and stated that the document is already with Parliament procedurally, having been served upon the Clerk's office without objection.
“My secretaries presented the report to me yesterday,” he said
It is to be noted that the report is pending tabling at Parliament for Friday, 30th August 2024. This course of action was confirmed by Hon. Paran, who explained that the report had already been included on the Order Paper for Friday.
“So, for the Order Paper for Friday which is the 30th, it is already there to be tabled,” Hon. Paran noted
Recalling the events, in 2021, Lara and her Deputy Tamba Momoh were suspended by President Julius Maada Bio for alleged "professional misconduct" and breach of confidentiality concerning the alleged issuance of fake hotel receipts in the office of the President. Subsequently, on 17th November 2021, Justice Nyawo Finda Jones was appointed Chairperson of the Special Tribunal to investigate Lara and Tamba for "misconduct and lack of professional performance in their activities."
On 12th June 2024, the State House confirmed President Bio's acceptance of all the recommendations of the Tribunal’s Report for the removal of Lara and Tamba, as per Section 137(7)(a) of Sierra Leone's national constitution. President Bio instructed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to initiate the necessary procedures for the removal of the suspended Auditor-General and directed the Audit Service Board to take action against her deputy.
Since then, there has been a growing demand for the Government of Sierra Leone to make the report public. Notably, Section 137(5)(b) of the Constitution of Sierra Leone mandates that the removal of the Auditor-General, in this case, requires sanction by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, equating to 99 out of 149 MPs. This presents a political challenge, as the ruling SLPP with 81 MPs would need support from at least 4 MPs from the APC's 54, alongside the 14 Paramount Chiefs.
The conclusion of this matter is imminent, and the constitutional requirement for parliamentary sanction is crucial in determining the outcome.
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