By Crispina Cummings
Members of parliament have started an investigation into the activities of nongovernmental organisations, especially over the "unaccountable ways" in which they expend funds meant for the people of Sierra Leone.
Chairman of the committee selected for this purpose, Ibrahim Bundu, MP, Thursday urged the coordinator for NGOs in the ministry of finance, Solomon Scot, to summon all vote controllers and account signatories to the next hearings in the House this week.
He said they wanted to know how such organisations implemented their projects in the country and they must do so with clear and convincing evidence.
“Whatever money comes in the country either as loans or grants parliament has the constitutional duty to enquire into its use because they are meant for the good of the country. The committee’s responsibilities are not only limited to quizzing ministries, departments and agencies” said Bundu, who doubles as the majority leader in parliament.
In particular the committee had invited the Search for Common Ground (SFCG) to account for projects they implemented in 2012 with special reference to the “open political space at chiefdom level for voiceless women and youth” and for which over 50 million Euros were allegedly expended.
The committee noted that implementing partners were Coalition for the Coordination of Youth Activities, Campaign for Good Governance, National Elections Watch, Sierra Leone Teachers' Union and Society For Democratic Initiative, among others.
Partnership coordinator at SFCG, Kenneth Paul Conteh asked the committee to direct some of their queries to the National Coordinator because their country director had left.
The finance ministry official, Scot, said he had written a letter to SFCG to bring along their implementing partners but was surprised that they had failed to do so.
Clerk of Parliament, Ibrahim Sesay, said he wanted to see for the purpose of verification all certificates of operations for SFCG, an international non-profit organisation headquartered in Washington, D.C. and operating in 30 countries with a mission to transform the way the world deals with conflict away from adversarial approaches toward cooperative solutions.
(C) Politico 11/03/14
