JB Dauda
Minister of State, East, William Juana Smith and Internal Affairs Minister, Joseph Bandabla Dauda on Saturday 18th January engaged in a media battle on the Star Line Radio in Kenema over a Le 5 Billion contract awarded for the construction of the Kenema City Hall.
The contract was awarded in 2008 to Premier Construction Company headed by a Lebanese Contractor Jemie Shalop following an international competitive bidding.
JB Dauda told Star Line Radio that he was very disappointed that his colleague minister would go over the radio and invite the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate him.
He said Smith should have observed the principle of collective responsibility or met him face to face on the issue.
Dauda said he never influenced the award of the said contract to the Lebanese man as alleged by Smith, adding that there was procurement process for the award of such contract. He said he started the construction in 1989 and raised it up to wall height and that he had spent huge sums of his personal money on the construction of the town hall, adding that work on the building got stuck prompting him and the then Mayor Chief Brima Kargbo to plead with the president to step in.
He said they invited the president, who honoured the invitation, and took a conducted tour of the building.
Smith, while responding, said that it was not minister Dauda who had invited the President insisting that he did invite him in his capacity as Resident Minister.
He accused Dauda of having influenced the contract in favour of the contractor, refuting claim made by him that he had spent his personal money on the hall. Smith said that he was aware that donations were made by people at that time, adding that he was very concerned about the huge amount already spent on the hall which is still uncompleted.
Smith said Dauda should be grateful to him because he influenced his release from Pamdamba Road Prison when he was arrested by the then NPRC Government.
Sources disclosed that Le2.4 billion has been disbursed to build the hall work on which is at a standstill.
This media war by the two ministers has embarrassed supporters of the governing All People’s Congress (APC) some of whom described it as "shameful".
One Mustapha Kamara called on president Koroma to intervene. "How can two ministers in the same government shamefully attack each another?" he asked.
(C) Politico 21/01/14
