Concord Times (Freetown)
Alusine Sesay
25 November 2011
In the wake of the revelation made by the international Arabic news provider, Aljazeera, which reportedly linked the Office of the Vice President to illegal timber deal, there are indications that VP Samuel Sam Sumana would be replaced come 2012 as President Ernest Koroma’s running mate.
Aljazeera screened a documentary revealing a timber deal that allegedly transpired between undercover journalists and two men, Alex Mansaray and Momoh Konte, who were linked to the VP’s office.
The journalists visited the VP’s office posing as businessmen, met with Sumana and the two men who claimed to be official advisors. Later the two men sought and accepted cash payments from the ‘businessmen’, which they claimed would help secure the VP’s support for a timber export business that the undercover reporters wished to establish.
Though there hasn’t been any proof of VP Sumana’s direct involvement in the illegal deal as he later admitted to Aljazeera that he knew the two men but their claims to be his advisors were false, that he hadn’t received any money solicited by them on his behalf and that attempt by Alex Mansaray to extract $50,000 from the undercover journalists was an act conceived solely by Mansaray without prior discussion with him, questions hang on how Mansaray and Konte end up using the VP’s office to secure bribes from potential businessmen.
At the weekly ministry of information and communication press briefing, deputy minister of information and communication, Sheka Tawarallie told journalists that the government is firmly committed to fight corruption and anybody found wanting would be dealt with according to the law.
“Government is very much firm to fight corruption in the country. We have no sacred cow in our government. Anybody found wanting will face the full force of the law,” he said.
Tawarallie disclosed that while the government is closely reviewing the documentary clip produced by Aljazeera and proper verification is being done on it, President Koroma too is also looking into the matter for further action.
He said that as a responsible government, the ruling All Peoples Congress APC party will not rush into any action but would approach the issue in a thorough and calculated manner to come up with a formidable decision.
“The government would not spare anybody that would have indulged in corrupt practices. We will not rush into action. We will follow it as a responsible government and take a reasonable pathway,” he said adding that the country is ready to move forward and nobody would act as a barrier to the development of Sierra Leone.
The government official disclosed that one of the accused persons, Alex Mansaray, has been arrested by the police along one of the country’s borders while the other is out of the country.
Considering the fact that if VP Sumana is found wanting for these allegations and his chances of being Koroma’s favourite come 2012 get slimmer, his impeachment process as the country’s number two man will take some months and create many bad bloods within the APC and the country as a whole. Hence, it may not augur well for the Koroma-led administration.
However, a section of the public say that to cushion the effect on the burgeoning political tension in the country, President Koroma will save many hassles by retaining VP Sumana for the time being while thorough investigation is going on before elections campaign will start while so that the second term vice presidential ambition would be jeopardized.
In the last few months, the issue of President Koroma’s choice of running mate has been a subject of debate with names like Musa Tarawallie, Chukwuma Johnson, Diana Konomanyi contending with the incumbent Sumana.
While some people think any stain on the person or office of the VP could go a long way to damage the political career of VP Sumana, others say a committee would be set up to do the investigation and VP Sumana would be exonerated because he hasn’t done anything wrong.
For the final part of the saga, the government and relevant media authorities in the country have been urged to deep further into how the undercover journalists got their information to smear a highly placed personality like the Vice President.
On the other hand, the opposition SLPP was quick to react by calling on President Koroma to uphold his pledge of no sacred cow in the fight against corruption rather than disappoint the people by shifting attention to spending on contracts than curbing corruption. “For the APC, graft is a core strategy to raise quick money for themselves and their party.
“SLPP calls on President Koroma to do the honourable duty of admitting leadership failure in the country. We also call on the international community and friends of Sierra Leone to prevail on President Koroma to urgently act on these issues before Sierra Leone is declared a rogue state, which will have far reaching implications for the suffering of our people,” a release from the opposition stated.
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