By Crispina Cummings
The Executive Secretary for Sierra Leone’s National Drugs Law Enforcement agency, SIM Turay has complained that his organisation is “not functioning properly”. Speaking to members of the parliamentary committee on internal affairs on Friday, Turay painted a grim picture of the agency suggesting it is useless. He said it had only ten workers, no vehicle, no office equipment, no management structure, no offices in the provinces, no presence at the Lungi international airport, and with an annual budget of Le 300 million (US$ 69,000) which he said was “unrealistic” and a “very big challenge”. He said that since the agency was set up not a single person had been charged to court for drugs even though, he went on, there were thousands of people in the country taking illegal drugs. He said this meant that his office was “not fit for purpose” and government was not taking the agency seriously. The meeting with parliament comes in the wake of concerns by MPs over the general security of the country in the wake of the Al-Shabaab attack in Nairobi. Led by the Deputy Minister Sheka Tarawallie, they also included the heads of the police, immigration, prisons, national fire force and national registration secretariat. Chairman of the committee, PC Bai Kurr Kanagbara III, MP, said the recent Al-Shabab attack in Nairobi that killed dozens was a serious threat to Sierra Leone. He said Sierra Leone was one of the troop contributing countries to the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). MPs raised the issue of screening persons who enter the country, and having fire stations at different parts of the country. They expressed concern that the country was too freely accessible and the “porous nature” of the borders. Chief Immigration officer, Kolifa Alpha Koroma said that the institution had now upgraded and had a database of people coming into the country. He said that they had also put strict measures in place for work and residential permits. Inspector General of Police, Francis Munu said that there would be a high level security meeting on Thursday and that they would soon be sensitising the public on security issues. The minister assured the committee that all the issues raised would be handled seriously as they were very sensitive. (C) Politico 01/10/13
