By Saio Marrah
The second report of the ongoing trial of the alleged corruption surrounding the renovation of the Sierra Leone UN Mission Chancery Building in New York has indicated that 47% of the work has been satisfactorily completed after 90% of the payment was made.
This is according to an assessment report prepared between 2019 and 2021 by Paul Bockarie, the head of a team of Engineers from the Ministry of Works and Public Asset after a visit to the chancery building in New York.
Reacting to lawyer Pa Momoh Fofana who was representing the first accused, Saidu Nallo at Court No.1, Freetown, Bockarie said the same second report indicated that plumbing and electrification of the building have been completed by 50%.
He also noted that the window frame of the building had been restored and as well as the ceilings of the first, second, third, and fourth floors.
On whether the work done exceeded the payment made, the witness said he could not tell because the contractor did not give him information on how he spent the money for the renovation.
Bockarie also stated that based on standard practices, a third party should certify work done, but in this scenario, the contractor rather certified the work himself.
He also noted that at the end of the work, the contractor did not show any quantity of work done and that the contractor did not show any information as to whether a sub-contractor was hired to do the work.
The witness also said the first report did not state whether there were glass panels on the site and did not see glass material on site.
He also acknowledged how the contractor said some of the glass materials he bought were in the warehouse while others were at the site, but he (the witness) only saw the glass material via video.
Lawyer Ibrahim Sorie, representing the fourth accused person, Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara argued that since the chancery building itself is 94 to 95 years old, it is difficult to renovate such a structure as compared to a newer building, but that was overruled by the presiding judge, Justice Adrian Fisher, who said that was irrelevant.
The witness also acknowledged that the building is in a worse state in 2023 as compared to 2021 when the work on it was stopped by the contractor.
In relation to that concern, Justice Fisher pointed out that the trial will be focusing on the state of the building in 2021 before Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) took over the issue. He noted that there was no work done between 2021 and 2023.
He said he will look at the evidence as it was in 2021 since 2023 was not part of the indictment.
He further described the witness as the court’s eye, who was looking at the building between 2019 and 2021, adding that the court will therefore take into consideration what had happened between the two years.
The prosecution’s engineering witness said the work on the site needed more materials at the time of his investigation.
Another prosecution witness, the head of the building from 2022 to date, Idriss Samaguty Tejan, said there were waste building materials abandoned at the site.
He also informed the court that while Saidu Nallo left as head of the chancery building in 2021, the contractor, Jules Sanders did not hand over the keys to him until 2022. Tejan said since he was unable to check the quantum of materials at the site, he had to change the lock of the store after Sanders handed the keys to him.
He also said emails from lawyers indicated that the work done by Jules Sanders was not properly done.
He also noted that even though he was there as acting head of the chancery building, he only took full control after the contractor handed the keys to him.
Tejan also said when he asked Sanders about the information concerning the building; he could not make it available to him.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (24/04/23)
