Before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts, the Financial Controller of the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC), Badamasie Ibrahim, disclosed that the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) is indebted to his company to the tune of NLe 589.3 million.
The disclosure revealed a problematic practice: EDSA often makes payments directly to EGTC’s suppliers on its behalf but fails to properly communicate these transactions. This lack of transparency, an EGTC source noted, creates discrepancies in financial statements and weakens financial management. “EDSA should have been paying EGTC directly, and then EGTC would pay its suppliers. Instead, by bypassing us without notice, they create confusion,” the source explained. The Deputy Chairman of the Committee questioned the legality of this direct payment arrangement without an official agreement.
In a separate but equally tense session, the Judiciary of Sierra Leone came under severe scrutiny from the same Parliamentary Committee. The scrutiny was based on the 2023 Audit Report, which found that the Judiciary was charging clients fees for summons and motions that exceeded those stipulated in the Finance Act of 2021.
The situation prompted strong language from Committee member Hon. Abdul Karim Kamara, who stated that the “Judiciary of Sierra Leone is collaborating with the state to steal from the people of Sierra Leone.” The Committee expressed profound disappointment that the arm of government entrusted with upholding the law was itself failing to comply with statutory provisions. lawmakers demanded the Judiciary immediately regularize its fee structure and finalize a promised service charter to be displayed prominently in all court buildings.
