By Crispina Cummings
A senior official of the Ministry of Defence has told the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee that military personnel could not attend yesterday's hearing because they were on a one-day holiday approved by defence minister, Pallo Conteh after Armed Forces Day activities.
Director General Sadik Kapuwa who appeared alongside Permanent Secretary James Freeman and accountant Joshua Ellie said it's now a tradition for "soldiers to stand down" for a day after Armed Forces Day.
Responding to questions from committee members who wondered whether it was a good idea to "put the army on stand down", Kapuwa said the security of the country was never compromised because there were adequate rapid response mechanisms in place.
The deputy chairman of the PAC, Komba Koedoyorma, MP, discontinued with proceedings and told the defence ministry officials that the military component of the ministry must be represented at the next meeting.
The committee was due to ask questions on issues having to do with payment to staff who had attained the statutory retirement age, disbursements made "without adequate supporting documents" and the "differences between rice quotas received and distributed for operations and training".
With the ministry of mines, MPs were furious that the ministry's accountant failed to attend the hearing again this year.
Koedoyarma said the committee "will not take it lightly with the ministry this year [because] they have to answer to serious issues of payments made without the relevant supporting documents, duplicate copies of licenses not submitted, utilization of funds without prior approval, personal files and receipt of NASSIT payments not submitted for audit inspection."
At the hearing were Permanent Secretary Fatmata Mustapha, Eugene Norman who is in charge of the mining cadastre system and Sidi Sesay, Deputy Secretary.
The Public Accounts Committee is inquiring into the operations of Ministries Departments and Agencies in line with the Auditor General’s report for 2012.
(C) Politico 20/02/14
