By Richard Ngevao in Bo
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament yesterday ordered the detention of William Alpha, chief administrator of the Bo City Council at the Bo west Police Division, accusing him of “perjury”.
According to the committee chairman, Hassan Sheriff, MP, they handed the chief administrator over to the police because he failed to comply with their directives regarding the ministry of agriculture and for failing to produce some delivery notes on procurement during a parliamentary public hearing on the council.
The committee ordered that William Alpha be detained for three days and brought to Freetown for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the media and public relations officer at the Bo West police division, Abu-Bakarr Sidikie Kamara confirmed to Politico that they arrested Alpha "on the orders of the public accounts committee of parliament arising from queries having to do with the monitoring and evaluation of projects and other matters relating to the decentralization process".
The police spokesman denied that the Chief Administrator was arrested for fraud saying the warrant for his arrest was triggered by "inconsistencies in his reporting to the committee".
The Deputy Chief Administrator Emmanuel Deoud told Politico that "the document for which Alpha was detained, has been found and will be presented to the Public Accounts Committee”.
The Committee, headed by deputy speaker Chernor Maju Bah, MP, is conducting public hearings as part of their investigations of issues raised in the auditor general’s report for 2011 regarding the use of public funds devolved by the central government to ministries, departments and agencies.
