Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698832347901.pdf (Sierra Leone)
OAU DRIVE, TOWER HILL, FREETOWN P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ [HANSARD] ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT FOURTH SESSION –FIRST MEETING THURSDAY, 20TH MAY, 2021 SESSION – 2020/2021 OAU DRIVE, TOWER HILL, FREETOWN P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S ____ [HANSARD] ______________ OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT VOLUME: II NUMBER: 2 First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
Proceedings of the Sitting of the House held Thursday, 20th May, 2021.

2 CONTENTS I. PRAYERS II.

RECORD OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY SITTING HELD ON 20TH MAY, 2021 3 THE CHAMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE Official Hansard Report of the Proceedings of the House _____________________________________________________________ FOURTH SESSION – FIRST MEETING OF THE FIFTH PARLIAMENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC _____________________________ Thursday, 20th May, 2021.
I. PRAYERS [The Table Clerk, Ishmaila Kabba, read the Prayers] [The House met at 10:15 a.m. in Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown] [The Speaker, Hon.

Dr Chernor Abass Bundu in the Chair] The House was called to Order 4 Suspension of S. O 5[2] COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA [Leader of Government Business]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I stand to amend the Order Paper.

Item 3 is okay, item 4 is okay, item is 5 okay, and amendment for item 4[a] THE SPEAKER: You mean item 4a?
HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Yes, item 6 Mr Speaker sorry it should be Government Motions.

[a] The Minister of Health and Sanitation not the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

THE SPEAKER: Very well.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you Mr Speaker.

I move that item 6[a] be amended to read the Minister of Health and Sanitation for the document to be ratified today.

Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Leader of Government Business.

Any seconder to that Motion?

HON.


VERONICA K. SESAY: I so second Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Did you follow the amendment Honourable I.B Kargbo?

HON.

IBRAHIM B. KARGBO: [Deputy Leader of Opposition]: I did.

THE SPEAKER: You are standing on it or another matter?

HON.

IBRAHIM B. KARGBO: I am going to stand on another matter within the same Order Paper.

THE SPEAKER: Well in that case allow us to finish with the first.

Any seconder to the Motion?


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] 5 [Motion to amend the order paper has been carried.]

THE SPEAKER: Yes Honourable from Bombali.

HON.
HON.

IBRAHIM B. KARGBO: Mr Speaker, of course the Clerk of Parliament has already read to us the proclamation declaring the end of the last session and the commencement of a new session which means that we will begin to suggest that matters which were not concluded during the last session be brought over to a new session in a proper manner, which makes me feel and believe that the Cyber Crime Bill should be removed from this Order Paper until we restart the entire process.
THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, from Bombali will you please come forward, Honourable Leader of Government Business, you are also invited to come forward please.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, before I come I want the Honourable Member to read the provision.

THE SPEAKER: Please come forward.

HON.

IBRAHIM B. KARGBO: I rise again, following consultations with Mr Speaker, and the Leader of Government Business, I withdraw my observations made this morning.
THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member, from Bombali for his understanding.

Shall we proceed please?

Let me take the unusual step of recognising the solo voice coming from the Honourable Member from Falaba because once he has started I don’t know where it would end.
So, let me put your mind at rest by inviting you if you have your Standing Orders, to please read Standing Order [59] paragraph 2 and read it carefully and apply it to the Cyber Crime Bill, you will see that your Acting Leader of Opposition was quite right to have made that observation, that was why I called him up for consultations and in his wisdom he has agreed with Mr Speaker.

So if you disagree, you know what to do and I know what to do.

We shall proceed with the day’s business.

6 HON.


DANIEL B. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, we have new Members of Parliament here and Parliament is a place of learning.

We are not against Government process and Government Bills, even the Chairman of Legislative Committee, Leader of Government Business can attest to the fact that some of us have been very active in making this Bill a reality, personally they can attest to that.
THE SPEAKER: I have not given you the Floor but since you have taken upon yourself to have it.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: I am sorry Sir.

THE SPEAKER: I have not given you the Floor at all.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: I so ask that you give me the Floor Sir.

THE SPEAKER: No, I will not.

I know where you are coming from.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, I was very active in ensuring that this Bill reaches this stage we are currently.
The Leader of Government Business and the Chairman of the Committee can attest to that.

THE SPEAKER: I can also attest to that, not only for this particular one, I can attest to your activism in every case there is a Bill before this House and I respect that Honourable Member.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Yes Sir.

Thank you very much.

THE SPEAKER: But in this particular instance what is your point?

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.


In this particular instance, the relevant portion you referred to is not applicable in this case, I may read for the edification of other Members of Parliament because we are here to learn.
Section [59]2 “if an interval of three months elapses after any reading of a Bill without further action being taken on it the Bill shall be deemed to be withdrawn unless the House otherwise resolves.” Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the point raised by the Acting Leader of Opposition is the procedures relating to end of session and the beginning of another session not a 7 Bill being neglected or not being referred to for three months, that is not the issue this time, this one is the rule in respect of ending a session and how unfinished Bills should be carried forward to a new session.
That is exactly what he raised.

THE SPEAKER: Let us make it short.

What are you saying Honourable Member?

Order!

I have recognised only one person and that is the Honourable Member from Koinadugu.

What you are saying if I understand you correctly is that S.O [59]2 which you have so kindly read to the rest of the House does not apply.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: In this case?

THE SPEAKER: In this instance?

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Yes Sir.


THE SPEAKER: And that is precisely the conclusion that our consultations arrived at when I invited the Acting Leader of the Opposition to come forward.

If you are now saying there is provision for another S.O that deals with the matter in between sessions, one session ending and another session beginning by all means draw my attention to it.

HON.
HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, based on our normal procedures in Parliament here… THE SPEAKER: I will not go by that.

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Based on our normal procedures of which you are very much aware… THE SPEAKER: Which S.O are you relying on?

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Unfinished Bills in the previous session cannot be continued in the following session as we are doing now and following the procedure does not in any way forestall the progress of this Bill, it does not.
Following the proper procedure, maybe the only difference will be we cannot proceed today that is the only difference.

It does not in any way forestall the business of this House.

THE SPEAKER: We are governed by two basic laws 8 HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: We are not Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Hold on, we are governed by two basic laws, in this particular instance the S.Os.

In the absence of any specific provision in the S.O we go to the Constitution.
In the absence of any provision in the Constitution we go on the basis of established precedent.

Will you draw my attention to the law that you are relying on?

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: I can refer you now to practice and precedence under this particular Parliament under your watch?

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, point of order Sir.

THE SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

HON.


MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I acknowledged the work done by my colleagues on the other side and the point raised by the Acting Leader of the Opposition.

I am aware of the fact that we did not on this side deliberately decide to send this Bill to the 20th in consultation with what all of us are yearning for thinking about the spirit of the Bo declaration.
I consulted the Leader of the Opposition, they asked me to adjourn this particular Bill to the 20th of this month which is today and that is what we agreed on because I was very concerned about S.O [59]2.

I used S.O 59[2] the last time not on precedence but by law to throw out the repeal of the Public Order Act and the IMC.

I threw them out and we started raw process because it was in violation of S.O 59[2].
Today in consultation with the Leadership, they told me let us adjourn to 20th for this particular Bill in front of us.

So, I know you are a very astute man in terms of following procedures, I know you are a man concerned with discipline and procedures in the Chamber and I believe we all have the spirit of working within the ambit of the procedure in the House.
In this case, I don’t want to open debate on this but let me crave your indulgence in consultation with your Leadership and other Leaders so that we can continue the business of the House and you have done so much on this Bill.
I don’t want to say what you are doing is not necessary because Mr Speaker has the final ruling, but I want to talk to you to show understanding that we need to 9 move on with this Bill because it is a very important Bill which you have worked on assiduously to reach this stage today.
Mr Speaker, I beg that we show understanding with our colleagues on the other side so we can continue the business of the House of today because I believe we are on track, we are on track because we have not breached any procedure.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: You have made your point Leader of Government Business.

The Honourable Member, from Koinadugu, do you agree with him?

HON.
HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, now that I know the Leader of Government Business had consultations earlier with the Leader of the Opposition on this particular issue and in the spirit of the Bo declaration of which I took an active part I agree with him.

Based on that, otherwise it would have been different completely but based on the submission of the Leader of Government Business and for me alone, I accept.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member from Koinadagu.
I know he is a very reasonable man and a very understanding Man.

So, let the matter rest right there.

No, no, I know they shared a common geographical boundary but in this particular instance there is barrier between them.

RECORD OF VOTE AND PROCEEDINGS FOR TUESDAY 18TH MAY 2021.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, we shall now consider the Record of Votes and Proceedings of the 46th Sitting held on Tuesday 11th of May.
In doing so we shall skip pages 1 through to page 4 and start consideration from page 5.

Page 5, any amendments?

I have a small one.

Paragraph 5, mistaken is not king but k-e-n.

Page 6?

Page 7?

Page 8?

Page 9?

HON.

ALUSINE KANNEH: Mr Speaker, Page 7.

The Minister of Transport and Aviation… THE SPEAKER: Are you taking us back?

HON.

ALUSINE KANNEH: Yes Mr Speaker, because I wanted to do that but you were in haste.

10 THE SPEAKER: I was not in haste, you were not paying attention.

HON.
HON.

ALUSINE KANNEH: Thank you Sir.

Mr Speaker, the Minister of Transport and Aviation is not Rex Bonapha, who presented the Motion to the House and moved the ratification.

The Minister of that Ministry is Kabineh Kallon; Rex Bonapha is the Deputy Minister Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: So the correction should be the Deputy Minister?

HON.

ALUSINE KANNEH: Deputy Minister instead of the Minister Mr Speaker.

Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: Point taken.

We were at page 9.

HON.


SHAIKA SAMA: Yes Mr Speaker THE SPEAKER: I heard a voice.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Yes.

THE SPEAKER: Yes.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Mr Speaker, I want to refer you to your response.

THE SPEAKER: Yes.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: The Rt.

Hon.

Speaker, Dr Abass Chernor Bundu ordered the Chairman of the said Committee.

Which Committee is the said Committee, you have to name the right Committee.

Let us put in the right name please, there is no said Committee here.

Thank you.
Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: Read the previous paragraph.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Mr Speaker, for the sake of clarity.

THE SPEAKER: I would have thought it’s clear because if you look at the numbering, it is number 4.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: It is not clear to me Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: The previous paragraph is number 4.

11 HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Yes.

THE SPEAKER: And my response is under that 4.

HON.
HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Mr Speaker, it is more correct if you name the Committee, it is about what is more appropriate Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: I disagree.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Yes.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: It is your ruling I don’t have question with that but I think he has some point.

Mr Speaker, it is not about the English, it is about the legal proceedings of the Votes and Proceedings we have because when you are making reference to the Hansard it has to be very clear.
In case I want to take this document for any court action or I want to institute Legislative Committee questioning, it must be referenced to that particular Committee.

I mean I can understand it is not about English but this is about legality, so I think I want to support him.

Thank you, really we can accept but just look at the legal process in that.

THE SPEAKER: I am afraid, I disagree for the same reason that I stated earlier.
Now for the edification of the entire House let us look at sub-paragraph 4 and relate it to the response that is in question.

Page 9 HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, point of order sir.

If that is the reference, even when you are doing an enactment of a Bill you should make reference to the paragraph if that is what you are saying.

That paragraph he is talking about Committee he is right.

The said Committee in the previous paragraph what is the Committee?
But if you say as mentioned in paragraph a, b and c I think it makes sense to us without legality.

THE SPEAKER: No, we are not talking about English or grammar here.

Let us look at the numbering, the paragraph is paragraph 4, now let us go through it and then you will see how it links.

12 HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, can you read that paragraph for us?

THE SPEAKER: Yes I am going to.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you.


THE SPEAKER: Paragraph 4 if I may have the attention of all Honourable Members please.

The Honourable Ambrose Maada Lebbie of Constituency 083, Bo District, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Aviation stated that he had carefully listened to the concerns raised by the Honourable Catherine Zainab Tarawally; he assured the House that the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Aviation would investigate the issue and revert to the House accordingly.
Mr Speaker’s response which comes under that same rubric number 4, it says; the Right Honourable Speaker, ordered the Chairman of the said Committee to summon the key players.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Mr Speaker, I did not say it is wrong, I said naming the Committee is more correct.

THE SPEAKER: I overrule this time.

HON.

SHAIKA SAMA: Thank you Mr Speaker.

As you like.

THE SPEAKER: You concede?

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: No, I am coming; I am going to concede from a very unique angle.
I raised a question about the Hansard, I have done consultation with the Table Clerks and this is just a summary of the Hansard.

So in that case the text of that particular day is carried in the Hansard so this is just a summary.

THE SPEAKER: And what does the said Committee referred to?

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: The said Committee refers to, from the Hansard that we are talking about the Committee itself.

Mr Speaker, your ruling is final we concede.

Honourable Members we concede.

Thank you.


13 THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, the said Committee can only be referred to one and only Committee mentioned in the previous paragraph.

There is no ambiguity here whatsoever and this is not Cambridge or Oxford grammar.

Honourable Members, my concern relates to the timing.
We gave a timeline to that Committee to undertake a particular piece of work on behalf of Parliament, that directive was given on the 11th and today is the 20th; you have three days to complete the compliance.

I am just reminding the Committee Chairman, if you have not already held the meeting, you have got three days to do so and conclude that matter and report to the House.

Shall we go on?

HON.


ALUSINE KANNEH: Mr Speaker, there was a Motion raised by Honourable Sorie Gbassay Koroma of Constituency 114, of Western Urban.

In that Motion Mr Speaker, he was concerned about the registration of the NCRA that there should be an extension and I as the Chairman of that Institution I instructed my Clerk to write a letter to the Director General [DG] and in lieu of that, the DG, you know went to the same Cambridge University possibly with Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, the DG responded accordingly and today he raised a very good point and I am really grateful that the Honourable Member raised a Motion and the extension is in place, registration is going on, you are welcome to register as much as you can till the 22nd of this month.

Today, they would be coming to Parliament to register staff and their family members.
People are also complaining that the extension is not enough as well, that I cannot discuss for now but we would see what will happen in the future.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member for that information.

Shall we proceed?

Page10?

Page11?

Page12?

Can someone please move for the adoption of the Record of Votes and Proceedings for the Parliamentary Sitting held on Tuesday 11th May 2021?

HON.

ISHMAIL S. SANDY: I so move Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder?

14 HON.


JOSEPH W. LAMIN: I so second Mr Speaker.

[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Correction of Votes and Proceedings for the Parliamentary Sitting held on Tuesday 11th May, 2021 as amended has been adopted] THE SPEAKER: Next item.

II.

CORRECTION OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR PARLIAMENTARY SITTINGS HELD ON TUESDAY 11TH AND TUESDAY 18TH MAY, 2021 RESPECTIVELY.

THE SPEAKER: Announcement by Mr Speaker.


We shall now take up the Record of Votes and Proceedings for the State Opening of Parliament on the 18th May.

I hope all of you have copies?

The list I have in front of me is incomplete it starts from page 3; can I have a complete Record please?

The attendance record is on page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, and page 6.

Any observation, any comment, and any amendment?

Page 7?

Thank you.

Can someone please move?

HON.


ISHMAIL S. SANDY: I so move Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder?

HON.

MOHAMED KANNEH: I so second Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Thank you.

I have a mover and a seconder.

[Question Propose, Put and Agreed to] [Correction of Vote and Proceeding for Tuesday 18th May, 2021 has been adopted] ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER THE SPEAKER: The announcement I have to make; one is on a very sad note and the other on the complementary note.
Let me start with the sad message first; it is with sadness that I have received the information that the Honourable Acting Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Ibrahim Kargbo lost his younger brother last night by the same 15 name Ibrahim Kargbo may we all please rise and observed a minute of silence?
May his gentle soul rest in peace and may Allah grant him a rightful place in His Heavenly kingdom and grant his survivors including our dear colleague the Honourable Ibrahim Ben Kargbo the fortitude to bear this grievous loss, and may his soul rest in peace.

Thank you.

Can the front bench of the Opposition designate an Acting Leader?

HON.

DANIEL B. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, on that note I advise the Leader of Government Business for a smooth running of this House that we amend item 5 for the seconder.

HON.
HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you very much.

HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: I think on that note Honourable Yumkella can second the Motion since you are a Member of the Appointment Committee.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Yes thank you.

Mr Speaker, I first say thanks to Honourable Daniel Koroma.

I have earlier said I have great respect for him for the rules of procedure.

Mr Speaker, I must reiterate that one, I have respect for him for the rules of procedure.
Thank you for bringing to speed, on that i now amend the order paper for item 5. of course the proposal is okay.

I move that the seconder for the Appointment Committee be Honourable Dr Kandeh K. Yumkella.

Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder to that Motion?

HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: I so second Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Thank you.


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Motion moved by Honourable Mathew S. Nyuma to allow Honourable Kandeh Yumkella to second his motion on Committee on appointment has been carried] THE SPEAKER: The other announcement I have to make is of a complimentary nature.
I want to take this opportunity as Speaker of this House to thank and congratulate all of us who made it a duty to be present in this House at the commencement of this Session of Parliament and more particularly to receive His 16 Excellency, the President during the State Opening of the Fourth Session of this Fifth Parliament.
I think you did this Institution proud with your presence and in the magnificent way in which you comported yourselves all of you and I hope and pray that in this Session we shall avoid a reputation of this ugly scene that characterized the ending of the last session.
I am very hopeful that all of us young and old, old timers and new timers, men and women of this Honourable House will heed the advice that I have just given so that we could sail through the rest of the Fourth Session in good spirit, in great harmony, in consonance with the Bo declaration.

I am also very pleased to observe that some Members of Parliament over indulged themselves during the cocktail reception that I provided to all the Members of the House.
I did not see the occasion but it was reported to me that one particular Member was crowned, he turned upside down with a crown on his feet, he will rather go nameless on this occasion but I want to say it was a great accolade on those who did it and the person on whom the crown was bestowed upon it was all in good merriment and the high spirit that the occasion entails.

Once more I thank all of you.
But to my amazement and dismay I entered the Chamber this morning the very first sitting after the State Opening I found only one Member of Parliament seated to my left and I would like again to implore and invoke the kind understanding of the Honourable Member from Koinadugu who has been a great assistance to Mr Speaker on the matters of attendance but I came into the Chamber this morning and there was only one person seated to my left Honourable Member from Koinadugu the Great Daniel Koroma.
I would want you to continue with the help that you have always rendered to Mr Speaker.

HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: Mr Speaker, having said what you have just said and having praised or spoken about what happened on that day I think today let us accept that the hangover of that event is still looming, so please today let us give it a day.

Thank you.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, point of order.

I just want to remind you about the loaded Order Paper I have.
I mean we are wasting time on some of these things, we have to do Bill and ratifications, so if we are wasting time on these issues… 17 THE SPEAKER: We are not wasting time, leave that with me I will manage our time judiciously.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: I am just reminding them.

THE SPEAKER: I will manage our time judiciously.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Please I know, or we go to the appropriate Standing Orders in terms of the debate so that we can shorten the time.

THE SPEAKER: Yes I will.

HON.


MATHEW S. NYUMA: I beg, okay thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: So let us proceed.

LAYING OF PAPERS: THE MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY DR HINGA E. SANDY [The Minister of Trade and Industry]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, with your leave I beg to lay on the Table of this Honourable House the following paper: AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE AND OTHER MULTI INDUSTRIES SIERRA LEONE LIMITED DATED APRIL 2021.
MOTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF APPOINTMENT AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE PROPOSAL: HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA SECONDER: HON.

DR KANDEH K. YUMKELLA.

Introduction HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that the first report of the Fourth Session of the Committee on Appointment and the Public Service be adopted by the House and that the recommendations contained therein be approved.
The Fourth Session of the Fifth Parliament of the second Republic of Sierra 18 Leone report on the Committee on Appointment and Public Service on Parliamentary vetting on Presidential nominations.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee on Appointment and the Public Service in tandem with it Constitutional obligation met on Monday 18th May 2021 and interviewed eight Presidential nominees for the following appointment: Minister and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, High Commissioner Federal Republic of Nigeria and two Board Members of Directors of both National Telecommunications and the Audit Service Board respectively.
The Committee maintained as usual, strict consistency with its established procedure and interviewed the nominees on issues pertaining to their educational background to ensure that they have the relevant education and necessary backup experience to hold such important offices of State.

Several probing questions put to them covered wide ranging issues relating to their track records in pertinent work situations, declared assets, tax obligations and their vision for a nationally productive tenure.
Issues of unsuitability or otherwise were closely looked into by the Committee.

Fourteenth sitting of the Committee on Monday, 18th May, 2021, third Session of the Fifth Parliament, the following nominees were interviewed on oath: Mr Abu Bakarr Karim-Proposed Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security Mr Abu Bakarr Karim is a Public Health professional in surgical and intensive care management and a seasoned researcher and consultant in varying agro related sectors.
He was praised across party line as being unassuming and result oriented as Deputy Minister on to his appointment as acting Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security.
Responding to Committee enquiries on the status of the third most important sector of the New Direction Agenda regarding Government policy implementations on food security, the nominee confidently said Agriculture was on track as the Government had made huge capital investments in the sector thus impacting on seeds availability, 19 increases in the number of tractors to farmers that have brought more low lands under cultivations, the expansion of youth farming at Chiefdom levels and timely fertilizer availabilities of crop growers countrywide.
Whilst he acknowledged that the Ministry’s food production trajectory was improving, he however pointed that there had been a paradigm shift in policy to embrace private sector participation and management of most agricultural production programs to forestall cyclical problems of funds wastages.
“If approved by this House, I will ensure that with collective leadership, the regulations on the Private Sector coordination strategies would be speedily developed for the approval of Parliament.” The proposed Minister said.

Dr Theresa Tenneh Dick - Proposed Deputy Minister (II), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security.
Dr Theresa Dick is a specialist in rural development with wealth of experience in agricultural research and extension, value chain survey, multi-stakeholder training, project planning and management, data management and financial management.

Prior to her appointment, she was the Project Manager, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Youth in Agriculture Project.
On her response to challenging issues and value addition her appointment would bring to the Ministry, the nominee said “I acknowledge the strive the Ministry is making, and if approved I will support the Minister in strengthening the research and extension services in the development and adaptation of improved technologies and the dissemination of these to our farmers.

Our nation’s food sufficiency would not be met if these important components are not fully operational.” The nominee concluded.
Mr Buakai Bindi Hindowa - Proposed Deputy Minster, Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs.

Mr Buakai Bindi Hindowa is an accomplished administrator with proven planning, financial, auditing and management skills spanning over a decade experience in the 20 private sector.

He is currently the Administrative and Research Officer at the Brewah and Co. legal firm.
During cross examinations on a wide ranging issues relating to the 2007 gender laws, mainstreaming and supporting victims of Gender Based Violence, the nominee promised to work earnestly with the Minister to implement the strategies and policies already in force to reverse the increasing trends of abuses impacting only on Human Rights records of the nation.
”I know is a challenging Ministry especially when it’s attracts more of women and Children’s rights but with collaborative leadership and necessary supports from Government and partners, we will deliver on our goals.” The seasoned administrator concluded.

Rtd Col. Alhaji Fanday Turay - Proposed Sierra Leone Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York.

Alhaji Fanday Turay is an experienced retired soldier, diplomat, and a legal practitioner of no mean standing.
Prior to this appointment, he served as Chairman, National Privatization Commission a position held until 2019 and served as Battalion and Brigade Commander in Sierra Leone Military Forces.

He is currently, serving as an employee of the United Nations in the capacity as Chief Security Officer in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations at the Golan Heights, Syria.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members as the United Nations is the platform where a country’s agenda can be marketed, promoted or destroyed, the Committee cautiously scrutinized the proposed Representative and adjudged thus; that the nominee has rich academic backgrounds in international relations and law.
He is no stranger to the United Nations protocols and standards as he had served as: Assistant to Chief of Staff at the Office of Military adviser to the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations [UNDPKO]; Military Adviser to the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, New York; served the United Nations in Liberia; all spanning to twelve years of dedicated service.
21 Responding to barrage of questions relating to how the United Nations system works, the UN Peace keeping, Climate Change phenomenon amongst others, from experienced Committee Members in the field of global diplomacy, the nominee explained “My twelve years in the UN System will help me represent Sierra Leone and articulate his Excellency’s Agenda and interest of the Country.
Peacekeeping in Somalia and other areas require considerations but for sure is one way to keep our soldiers busy and is a serious business to tap, we will look into it when am given the mandate”.

On the Climate Change issue, the Committee advised the nominee to contact the Ministry of the Environment and its Agency [EPA] for his edification on the current country status and how he could use this to promote the interest of Sierra Leone, one of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
Mr Sarjoh Aziz Kamara - Proposed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.

Mr Sarjoh Aziz Kamara is a public sector management expert specializing in peacekeeping operations, strategic policy specialist on the consolidation of peace, security sector reform and capacity building for local governance institutions.

Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the Political Affairs/Team Leader, United Nations Missions in South Sudan.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee was critical as had always been on Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs] that play pivotal role in enhancing Government agenda but continue showing defects.
The Ministry of Technical and Higher Education until recently has registered series of institutional challenges academic staff strikes actions, alleged pervasive corruption not limited to examination frauds and by extension, stunted growths of our tertiary institutions partly due to the nature of the curricula etc.

With these are the key appointments to this Ministry must be reminded of these malaises that are now perennial.
In response to some of the aforesaid, the nominee displayed exemplary knowledge on the structure of our tertiary educational system and candidly acknowledged the 22 challenging tasks ahead.

“I am going to a Ministry to work with a Boss who is not only academic but had served longest as Minister of Education in Sierra Leone.
I know also that there are statutory documents and Commission set to guide the operations of the institution so with collaborative work with the Minister, the officials of the Ministry and all the constituents’ institutions including Courts and Senates, we promise to reverse the turbulence tides in favour of an admirable standards and products required by this land.” Mr Sarjor Aziz concluded.
Ambassador Rupert Sydney Davies-Proposed High Commissioner-Sierra Leone High Commission, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ambassador Davies is a career civil servant and diplomat with a wealth of experience in international relations, regional integration and economic diplomacy.
Ambassador Davies served with diligence as the State Chief of Protocol to His Excellency, President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah [Late] from 1991 - 2001, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in Charge of Political Affairs [2007-2011].

He promised to maintain and build on the good bilateral relationships his predecessors had made.
Ambassador Rupert was adjudged by Members as one of the fineness diplomats the country had produced.

Mr Rowland Munda Stevens - Proposed Member, Board of Directors, Audit Service Board.

Mr Rowland Munda Stevens is a project management specialist with over twenty years’ experience in project planning, coordination, implementation and evaluation.
Prior, to this appointment he served as the Executive Director, Integrated Development Initiatives [IDI], a local NGO on livelihood and literacy supports to vulnerable people in society.

Mr Rowland promised to take to the Audit Service Board professionalism and team work that will boost the image of the Board and the country.
23 Recommendation[s] Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Committee adjudged the following Presidential nominees to be adequately qualified for their proposed appointments and they are recommended to the House for approval; I. Mr Abu Bakarr Karim - Proposed Minister of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security.

II.

Dr Theresa Tenneh Dick - Proposed Deputy Minister (II), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security III.
Mr Buakai Bindi Hindowa - Proposed Deputy Minster, Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs IV.

Rtd Col. Alhaji.

Fanday Turay - Proposed Sierra Leone Permanent Representative to the United Nation, New York.

V. Mr Sarjoh Aziz Kamara - Proposed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.

VI.

Ambassador Rupert Sydney Davies-Proposed High Commissioner- Sierra Leone High Commission, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

VII.
VII.

Mr Rowland Munda Stevens - Proposed Member, Member Board of Directors – Audit Service Board.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the First Report reflects the unanimous view of the Committee.

I therefore move that the First Report of the fourth Session of the Committee on Appointments and the Public Service as amended be adopted by the House and that the recommendations therein be approved.
Faithfully read, signed by the Leader of Government Business representing two sections; I know you are all here 24 waiting for that name I am going to disappoint you today.

Mr Speaker, so that is the end.

Thank you.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members be adopted by the House and the recommendation contained therein be approved.
Faithfully read, signed by the Leader of Government Business representing two sections in the city of Kenema aka the Paopa city, two sections one in my left called the Gbokakajama and the one on my right called Gbolambayama.

Thank you very much Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members any seconder?

HON.

KANDEH K. YUMKELLA: I so second Mr Speaker.

.


[Question Proposed] THE SPEAKER: Apart from the seconder I will recognise only two speakers from either side; it is very clear to me that there is mere unanimity on the approval of the nominees before the House.

So, Honourable Yumkella you have the Floor.

HON.

KANDEH K. YUMKELLA: Thank you very much Honourable Speaker.
My colleague Leader of C4C was just teaching me a little bit of biblical quotation here that; “there is a time and season for every purpose, Ecclesiastes Chapter 3.” Thank you Sir and today’s time is for me to endorse these appointments.

I was part of the interview process; I am very impressed with their credentials.
Another biblical quotation is that; “To whom much is given much is expected.” I think that is usually the message we try to give to every appointee that come to this Parliament that they were chosen from among seven million of us to lead various Departments and Agencies to help govern this country.
We are very pleased with their credentials, we can see that these are all seasoned men and women, I will just reference a few and to the Honourable proposed Minister of Agriculture; Mr Karim, you are part of the continuity in the Ministry, you have been acting already and many colleagues here have met you, we know you have been dynamic visiting our location, I know you have visited Samu as 25 well.
There is a shakeup in that Ministry, I think you are the third Minister that we have approved in three years, but it is also I signed that Mr President wants more results, more actions, you have be given two able assistance, we looked at their credentials very much.
I remembered asking one of them some interesting questions, it is great that you have a woman as Deputy who is a Agricultural Economist from the great Njala University and other Universities knowing that probably 60 or 80% of the post farm operations along the value chain in this country is done by women and so it is wonderful to see a woman specialist in a rural development as one of your Deputies.

She will fully understand the gender dimension of improving Agricultural productivity.
The young man you have also as your Deputy Minister was very impressive in the interview, with a lot of good track record from the Tony Blair Institute and World Bank and so on.

He says he has been advising you already but remember Mr President wants more results.

Mr Bindi you are welcome to the Ministry of Gender.

For those of you who do not know Mr Bindi has another title, for those of us who know that he is a Clerk of another Parliament right?
So, I know today they will be roasting him in that Parliament as well.

But I am sure all young men in that forum are really happy for him.

I remember how he was appointed in that forum, his colleagues were really excited.

So, please perform but you are going to be there and we expect you deliver on two agendas.
I am sure the mama in the House and Honourable Zainab Tarawally would want you to know that we are fighting for affirmative action for women in political positions, they have a core of men here including some Paramount Chiefs that want to see affirmative action in elective position for women and my very self.

“I am a He or She,” and you have two agendas, you can push both or you merge them; one is we are looking for two safe seats for women in every District in this country.
I see the men are not clapping, you guys should be happy.

We are ready to work with your Minister to move that Legislation in this House.

So, Mr Bindi we can help you get those two things pass in this House, it will be your legacy for posterity.

26 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, coming to the UN Representative, Mr Speaker you will be pleased to know that this man has very impressive credentials.
I cannot think of a better person that can represent Sierra Leone in New York than this man; you can see his legal profession, I feel sorry for him that he is now entering New York as they have the Palestinian crisis but I am sure his experience in Peacekeeping and enforcing Peace will be most useful to the Secretary-General as one of the delegate there, will also push pressing on Climate Change and I am sure he is going to get the right briefing from the EPA, but congratulations and good luck to him in New York.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Ambassador Rupert when I saw your name I was just happy.

I remember as young Minister before some people finish high school 27-28 years ago as young Minister; I served in the Cabinet with His Excellency, President Maada Bio, Yes!

But we remember you, we the young officers then, young civil servants, young Ministers, Rupert will introduce 15 Ambassadors without a piece of paper.
You can see the track record, but what I will recommend to Rupert and for my colleague Honourable from Bombali, we had recommended in the Foreign Service Committee that the Government should reserve 40% of Ambassadorial positions for career diplomats, you are representing that crop and we looked at your credential.

Yes!

A man like you can be in Nigeria, I have worked in Nigeria, you don’t send to Nigeria people who are not really serving diplomats.
So, we are very proud that the President chose such an experienced man and we hope we will see more career diplomats.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, there is also a young man who is going to be helping S.O [2] “My comaneh” in the Ministry of Higher Education is good to see you here Sir.

We are looking for a centre of excellence here.

Every country deserves an academic centre of excellence; we deserve our own Harvard Universities in our country or Bartley or Cornel and so on.
We saw your credentials as well that you would be able to help the Minister to deliver Educational excellence in the country, and we wish all of you luck and best wishes but as I have always said; in this Parliament I look forward to the day that would help the President to push accountability when we come here and 27 take a decision on non-performance.

But we have confidence that you would perform good luck and God’s speed.
THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member from Kambia District for his contributions.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, point of Order!

We have serious situation at hand, we are begging this is public.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, Order!

Order!

Mindful of my earlier pronouncement, I will take the following speakers in the order in which I called out their names.

First the Honourable Member from Port-Loko to my far left to be précised.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, point of Order Sir!


Please Sir.

We should maintain Order in the House Sir, all of you sit down the Speaker is speaking sit down please.

Okay do not worry, just sit down.

THE SPEAKER: But they are standing to be recognised.

So, they are in place.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: They are recognised, I have given their names.

THE SPEAKER: No, they are in place?

You are speaking in the following order, the Honourable Member from Lungi you have the Floor.
I don’t want to exhaust my list at this point, so let us start.

HON.

ABDUL KARGBO: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, you would agree with me that it is ceremonial for me to debate when a question emanating from the Committee on Appointment is posed to the general House.
I mostly reframe from debate because I have to be sure about who I debate in favour, we have seen on several occasions when nominees come to this House they debate in favour of them and when they go to their offices they misperform, I don’t want to be held responsible for that, that is why whenever I stand to debate I am pretty sure that the content of the character and the charisma of the nominees are up to the task.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want you to pay keen attention at certain Members of Parliament, the Leadership acumen they have exhibited and I will tell you why.

One 28 Member of Parliament I want you to pay keen attention to is the Leader of Government Business, the second Member of Parliament I will want you to pay keen attention to is the Leader of the Opposition, the third Member I want you to pay keen attention to is the Chief Whip of the Opposition.
I say this because there is a difference between a Politician that went to a Political academy whilst in the University, and a Politician that just jumped into Politics when the opportunity arises.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, you would not understand what I am saying, but again the Auradicals Club of Fourah Bay College is the only political entity that grooms Sierra Leoneans to become sober politicians in this nation.
This is the student political entity where the glitters and the glamor are seen from the ordinary eyes as opportunities, but those of us who feel it, know that it is a very rigorous process to become a comrade of the Auradicals Club.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I can vow for the content of the character of this nominees that he has exhumed some amount of professionalism when he was given the opportunity to serve us at an embryonic stage of his leadership when he was at Fourah Bah College.
Mr Speaker, they say if you want to know how beautiful your wife would be when she is old Mr Speaker look at your mother in-law.

Somebody who performed whilst in Fourah Bay as student has the proclivity to perform after University.

Suspension of S.O 5[2] THE SPEAKER: I also like the Honourable Member very much, but sometimes it gets long winded.

I don’t want to put time limitation but please let’s get moving.

HON.
HON.

ABDUL KARGBO: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to narrow down my debate to Mr Sajor Aziz Kamara Proposed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education.

He is a peace keeping expert and Mr Speaker, you would agree with me that the Higher Education has been very rancorous of recent time, lot of strike actions, we need somebody who is an expert to sanitize that very situation.
29 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education to pay great attention to the Limkokwing students because some of these students are becoming dropout.

So, I implore my comrade in whom I am well pleased to work closely with the Minister, who is also in attendance to make sure that attention is paid to those Sierra Leoneans who are about to be a burden to this country.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, like I said I would never defend somebody I have not worked with.
When I was in Fourah Bay College I was Fourah Bay college one of my Ministers who was very diligent, he served me sincerely, and he did all he opportune to serve as student union President, and whilst I was student union President of could to ensure that we achieved as a student union government is here today for approval and he is no less a person but Mr Hindowa Bindi, he was my Minister of sport.
I could remember a point in time it was difficult for us to organise sport meets at Fourah Bay College and we thought we are going to give it up that very year, but he did everything humanly possible, he paraded the length and breadth of the city, he met with authorities and at the end of the day we held a very successful sport meets.
So he is somebody I have no doubt in, and also Mr Speaker, he doubles as a participant in one of our very much controversial what sap forum, he was serving there as clerk, that is the true reflection, he is very controversial man.

So, on behalf of the true reflection what’s sap forum I want to say that I have no doubt in his ability to perform.
We want to thank the President for identifying young people who have the strength, young people who have the zeal, remember the Bible says in; “Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 1 that remember your creator in the days of the youth.” Why emphasis was paid on the youth because that is the most active period of your life time.

So, if you are exposed to certain positions, I am sure they have the zeal, they have the energy, they have all it takes to revolutionised our country we all wish for.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Member, I also want to single out the retired Military Officer Colonel Turay.

I want him to note that he is representing Sierra Leone in the United Nations and of course we have read your Curriculum Vitae and we do not have any iota of doubt in you.

We want you to serve this country diligently and to represent the 30 country in a manner in which every Sierra Leonean would be looked at as very responsible whenever we have the opportunity to go there.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am sure that this is one of the best set of nominees the President has made.

I only wonder why it is happening now but I am sure if these fine individuals were appointed at the earlier stage they would have created the prerequisite impact that we are looking for.

I have always said, I am a Member of the Opposition but like I always say we are not opponent to the development of this nation, we are proponent to the development of this nation.
So, when we see fine gentlemen been appointed by His Excellency, the President it is incumbent on us to say it.

I have said that I would not talk for somebody who has not proving to me that he or she has the capable hands to serve.

I am specifically saying this because I have worked with them, I know them, and I can lay down my life for them, that is why I am saying this.
I don’t normally debate just because they are nominees; I debate because I have confidence in the nominees and these people I can tell you Mr Speaker, if I were to influence the House, I would kindly ask Honourable Members of Parliament, to expeditiously approve them because they are fit for purpose.

I rest my case.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member, for his contributions.

I now recognise the Honourable Maada Lebbie, you have the Floor.

HON.

MAADA LEBBIE: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I stand here today to add my voice to the approval of these Presidential nominees.

Like my colleague from Port Loko said; I am speaking on behalf of somebody I knew over the years, and I am speaking for and on behalf of the people of Constituency 083 who are here this morning to support my Chairman, our Constituency Chairman.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, for us as a Constituency, we consider this appointment long overdue but I want to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency, 31 the President for his consideration this time around in appointing a young, dynamic, and astute Constituency Chairman from Bo District.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Member, I did not know your symbol was under threat.

HON.

MAADA LEBBIE: Not really Mr Speaker.


The young man in many cases we disagree to agree, he is my brother, we are coming from the Kpaa Mende clan, and we always stand for what we believe in.

THE SPEAKER: Let me give you the assurance, quietly, confidently has assured me your symbol with quest.

[ Laughter] HON.

MAADA LEBBIE: Thank you Mr Speaker, you are on record.
This young man is somebody who always stands for what he believes, and back then in opposition, he turned down so many opportunities just because of his beliefs in the then Opposition Leader presently His Excellency, the President, The Brigadier Retired Julius Maada Bio.

This young man has stood in the past in ensuring the SLPP jumped back in the limelight of politics.
For eleven 11 years we were in the wilderness yet my Constituency Chairman stood the test of time, and I want to assure this House that my Chairman will go there and make us proud especially the young people of this country.

He has done it in the past, under the Sierra Leone People’s Party [SLPP] National Students Union [NUSS] at the University and he has been doing it and he will continue to do it because he knows exactly what the Constituency requires of him.
On that note, I want to call on this House especially Colleagues on the other side to join me in supporting my Chairman so that he can go to the Ministry and make us proud.

Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member from Bo for his contribution to the debate and I take note of his wish that he has made abundantly clear to the House.

That he will want to return to the House after 2023.
I will now recognise the following and then we will wind up the debate, the Honourable Emerson Lamina to be followed by the Honourable Chernor Bah.

32 HON.

SAA E. LAMINA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in concurrence to Section [61] of Sierra Leone 1991 constitution, His Excellency, the President has done the needful… THE SPEAKER: There is only one meeting going on right now, Honourable Latiff how many times have I called your name?

HON.
HON.

SAA E. LAMINA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I recall that in concurrence with Section [61] of Sierra Leone 1991 Constitution His Excellency, the President has done the needful by looking into the human resource bank of Sierra Leone bringing out fine Sierra Leoneans to serve this nation, what a luck, and I personally have no thinking of doubt that these fine Sierra Leoneans will definitely do us good.

The people of Kukuwamah can recall that a corn that is ripen can tell by it looks.
The nominees here today are ripe corns and all this House needs from them is strategic transformation.

I give a tap on their back for their predecessors that have once occupied those offices.

We are looking forward for their strategic transformation.

I have perused through their agenda for prosperity, I have also peruse through the medium term development plan I see the semantics, the syntax of every culture, like the same, what are we looking for?
Does it also concern this House to see the inland value swamp?

I am directly talking to Mr Abubakar Karim and also Mr Dick; does it concern you to see the inland value swamp, the animal husbandry, agricultural extension, and the tractorliZation we had, and we have seen tractorlisation in time past and even now as it turns out to become white elephant.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I call upon them to look at the topography of the land before procuring those tractors that will use agricultural activities.

I also look at Mr Bindi Hindowa as somebody that has practiced student union politics like my very self in my days and it was a fine grooming ground for tomorrow Leaders.
Mr Bindi, you are going to the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, a Ministry that was created without recourse to a commission, most times I see that Ministry falling at the mercy of NGOs, they even attempt to call the short looking at the strategic commission to coordinate NGO families to do the actual job in complementing Government efforts.

33 Mr Fanday Turay is going to be the face of Sierra Leonean at UN level and office of high diplomacy.
I was privileged as the youngest Mayor in West Africa to visit United Nation with Dr Zainab Hawa Bangura, she took me to the length and breadth of that office at least visited eleven offices and it is an office of a very high diplomacy.

Today, we have a face at the ICC, Justice Miatta Samba; we also have a representative to review the Instrument at ICC that chose Dr Kanu, the proposed Deputy Minister.
Those appointments did not just come by but with high levels of diplomacy touching the faces of nations of national representative with your background as an Alhaji, a Lawyer, and a former military commander, I believe that you will contribute immensely to the peace of the World.

I therefore employ your Honourable self to cut a page from your predecessor and you have a lot also to learn.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Mr Sajor Aziz Kamara you are going to Ministry that will produce the human resource of this nation, a Ministry that of recent times I have hardly heard about the repetitiveness of strike actions, with the skill of the guru Professor Alpha Wiry, you are coming to consolidate academic consolidation to the peace and serenity of our Technical and Higher Education campuses.
Mr Aziz, Sierra Leone needs curriculum developers, like in Nigeria they have many of them, every 4 years their curriculum developers look at the environment and see what need to be added.

Today, I see many of our young people are going for music, cinematography but there are no academic courses going in that direction.

What are we doing?

They have zest in film acting, but there is no course like cinematography in our University.
Journalism is also centralized at Fourah Bay College but mass communication should be extending to the provinces.

What are you doing to actually strengthen our middle man power?

Banjul, Guinea, Ivory Coast and the US cannot joke with their middle man power.

Many people shy because they did not possess four or five WASSCE.

How can you make the middle man power in Technical Institution very attractive?
Courses like medicine, refrigeration, computer technicians, and carpentry; you can make them attractive so those that will not be fortunate to continue the Grammar School system 34 with five WASSCE Will be catered for, so that the high level of unemployment in the youth bracket will be something of the past.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members I call on Colleagues Honourable Members, to join hands for the swift ratification of these fine nominees.

I thank you very much.


THE SPEARKER: I thank the Honourable Member from Kono who doubles as the Leader of C4C.

The Honourable Leader of the Opposition you have the Floor.

HON.

CHERNOR R. M BAH: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.

I hope I will also be talking for those who will not have the opportunity to do so this morning but had wanted to before the Chief Whip rap up because I see that the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture was desperate to talk because his Minister is here this afternoon.
But in any case, I have been advised by the Honourable Aaron that if the Chairman wants to, he will host press conference after this sitting.

Mr Speaker, as usual I have been very brief because I was a Member of the Committee on Appointment that approved these nominees.

Honourable Aaron you have been troublesome since this morning.

THE SPEAKER: Ask them a bit to keep quiet, those are your Members.

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: Yes!


But they are your boys like you did to Honourable Latiff please do the same to Honourable Aaron call his name three times.

THE SPEAKER: Chief Whip to my left?

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: Mr Speaker, he is the Acting Leader for now, he is in high speed.

I listened keenly to the Honourable Abdul Kargbo the Member from Lungi, and you have been asking a question repeatedly in this House why the close tie between the Leader of Government Business and the Leader of the Opposition?
The Honourable Abdul Kargbo attempted to let him know some of the secret but fortunately he did not do all because I see the Deputy Minister of Justice was looking at him right in his eyes not to divulge the secret because it goes to the Rubicon and you have to go to the Rubicon for you to know what happens in the Rubicon.

35 THE SPEAKER: Now that you have mentioned it we all have ears.

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: Yes Sir, you have to go there Mr Speaker, you cannot get it from here.

I am so sorry Sir.
I am so sorry Sir.

THE SPEAKER: It is too late.

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: Mr Speaker, like has been said before me, all the nominees are judged qualified by the Committee on Appointment and the Public Services of which I am a Member.

We are very impressed not just with their CVs, but also by their response to questions posed by Members of the Committee.

But as selfish as human I will be forced to single out certain individuals and you will forgive me for that.
Mr Speaker, Sajor Aziz Kamara is a comrade, a brother, a friend and a true Sierra Leonean.

Mr Sajor Aziz has excelled himself in all the areas, he has found himself in life, and Dr Alpha Wurie seated here was a lecturer at the University whilst we were students, I am sure he knows that Sajor Aziz was a positive Auradical.

THE SPEAKER: He was not a fake?

HON.

CHERNOR R.M.

BAH: No!

No!


He was a positive Auradical, he supported the good things in society, the substantive Minister will attest to that and I am sure when he goes to the Ministry after been approved by this House, he will have a good working environment because Dr Alpha Wurrie is one of those few Sierra Leoneans who enjoys working with young people.

The Minister of Information seated there will also attest that Sajoh Aziz is a good man.
We were in University together, I will not say everything to you Mr Speaker because the Honourable Ibrahim Ben Kargbo is not here and it will not be fair to him.

No, no he was never afraid, he was a strong man.


Mr Speaker, the appointment of Sajoh Aziz is very appropriate and timely and it is never too late, we want to assure him that he will also have the support of this House in ensuring that all assignments that will be assigned to him by the substantive Minister 36 will be executed and he will go to the office with excellence because we are bound to support him.
Mr Speaker, I would not talk on Rupert Davies because whiles they were at old Railway line, I was in primary school.

So, if I say certain things he will go back and do something else to me but definitely as Dr Yumkella said for those of us like the mama of the House that will be going to ECOWAS we will be looking forward to interacting with him more than we have done in the past.

He is not just a career diplomat but a successful career diplomat.
We have some career diplomats but the level of excellence graduates from A to A+ or A++.

Rupert is one of career diplomat of excellence.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, for the Minister of Agriculture I will be talking on behalf of Honourable Sallieu O. Sesay, when we interviewed the proposed Minister, his response to questions proved that he now knows more about the Ministry than the time he first entered in that Ministry.
I am sure he is going to perform with excellence because he is a very good team player, and has always been a good team player.

I am sure his Deputy, Madam Dick and whoever will be coming later will enjoy a good working relationship with him.

Mr Speaker, Madam Dick, I think she is the only lady on the list, she has earned a lot for herself, she started from zero and now she is at hundred.
When you go through her CV, she struggled from down and she has achieved with excellence and I am sure that she is going to be an asset to that Ministry because it is not about putting round pegs in square holes, these are square pegs in square holes.

She has gone through the ranks and she knows about the communities, she has worked with little communities.

So, I am sure she is going to be an asset to that Ministry.
Mr Speaker, Chairman Bindi, who happens to be my clerk, I want to remind him that we are joking with the Honourable Member, from Bo but I want to assure you that he is one of MPs that has done excellently well in this House.

He debates very well, his attendance is punctual, and his is always in time.

So, just know that you sent a good MP to this House, given him another opportunity will not be doing him a favour but doing his Constituency and party also favour.
37 Mr Speaker, Mr Roland Munda Stevens also proved well during the course of the interviewed and he is going to the Audit Service to support His Excellency’s agenda in term of transparency and accountability.

Amongst the lots you have more to do than perhaps most of the other nominees.

The Audit Service is an institution that deals with accountability and transparency and the President has nominated you not just because you are Munda Stevens, but because he believes that you have the capacity to perform.
Go and continue in making sure His Excellency, the President proud.
I have known this gentle man for over a period of 30 years, the retired colonel has always been a diplomat by nature, he is a very peaceful Sierra Leonean, and a very professional retired Military Officer whiles he was in the Military before serving as ADC to the late President Tejan Kabba, he was always a peaceful man and I am sure that those traits are some of the things that have led His Excellency, the President amongst his many other achievements within and out to send him to represent us at the United Nations.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, it was during his tenure as a Military Attaché at the United Nations we started sending peace keepers out of Sierra Leone.

So, I believe with this opportunity Sierra Leone will benefit more not just with the United Nations but others within the United States that we will have the opportunity to interact with.

We will continue to support you my brother, you have done well and we know you are going to do well.
On that note Mr Speaker, I will join others before me in recommending these fine nominees for approval by this House.

I thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Leader of the Opposition.

Before we wind up this debate, I would now at this point to recognise the number of personalities in our midst.

First and foremost the House will like to recognize Professor Alpha Tejan Wurrie, Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Umaru Napoleon Koroma Esq.

Deputy Minister of Justices, Solomon Jamiru Esq.


Deputy Minister of Information, Amara Kallon, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Political and Public Affairs, P.C Samba Hindowa, Mr Gilbert Cooper Permanent Secretary, Ambrose James, Director in the Ministry of Planning, and a great leader of the Republic Asma James of Radio Democracy fame.
I will be failing in my duty today if I do not also recognize the one and only Fatmata Sawaneh, Pastor 38 Mohamed Sesay, Teddy Foday Musa, Lecture Fourah Bay College, another Foday Sesay Deputy Director NATCOM; Michael Jack Mohana, Director of Employment is also here, Osman B. Sankoh, office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator.

I hope I have not left out any other personality?


I have deliberately omitted the other Ministers present because they will be taking the Floor not too long, they are here on business.

So, let wind up the debate.

Today we are doing the reverse.

HON.


HASSAN A. SESAY: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, today again we are carrying out a function which is one that is usual but for every time we have people in front of us, they are people with different personalities, have a pedigree that always require you to say something.
Like we have always said this side of the aisle, when we are presented with people, fine personality, people that we respect and people that have the capacity, we will always give them the praise that is due them irrespective of their party affiliations.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have always said on this side of the aisle that we are nationalists, we will praise those nominees when the President nominates which are fine nominees, we will always give them the praise that is due them.
Today, I have the opportunity of having a college mate, friends, people I call brothers in front of us to be approved.

Fortunately for Mr President, he made a very fine selection.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I will start with somebody who have not been mentioned by other people which is Steven, he was a college mate of mine, always being very inquisitive to know everything, so if he has been appointed to go to the Audit Board I have no surprise because he is somebody who will always ask questions that nobody wants to answer.

For that reason, I doff my hat for him and I hope he will deliver as expected by the President.
I started with him because of age but not to say I disregard Fanday, Dr Karim, Sajoh etc.

No!

Because Dr Karim when he was in front of the Appointment Committee, he actually responded to the question and gave us the idea that he knew exactly what is going on at the Ministry of Agriculture and will be able to live up to expectations as we actually put him through a lot of difficult questions 39 but he was so smooth, I hope he will deliver as expected.
And not only delivery as the Minister of Agriculture but also in other areas I have not mentioned because they are not for public consumption, but however, I expect that he will do the best and make His Excellency proud.

Like I said in the interview, our greatest problem now is to ensure that we increase Agricultural productivity to ease the pressure on the demand for foreign currency that is used for the importation of rice and other products that are agriculturally related.
So, I know that he got that message and will do accordingly.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to ask and call on this House to approve these gentlemen.

Of course, my junior comrade, I emphasize the word junior comrade because all of them are junior comrades; Sajoh, Leader of Government Business, and Leader of the Opposition etc.

they are all my junior comrades, not forgetting the Deputy Minister of Justice because they came way after us but however it is the same family.
When the comrade is alright, he is always alright.

Thank you.

“In no rules, no vow we can do it anyhow.” Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, now let us talk about sincerity here.
When comrade Sajoh approached me, in meeting him for the first time, we interacted here in Parliament but he came as somebody who is sincere, somebody who is dedicated, somebody who knows what he is about and those are the kind of people we want to have in public offices because he knows what he is about and that is what we will encourage.

Like I said, notwithstanding party affiliation should be put aside, we are first Sierra Leoneans before we belong to parties.
So, let us take Sierra Leone first and then move from there and that is what I will always preach.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, now coming to Alhaji Fanday Turay, when people talk about the Military sometimes they talk about somebody who is rough but Alhaji Fanday Turay since I have known him over forty years ago, he has demonstrated that in the Military you can have fine gentlemen, very peaceful people, very diplomatic but yet very firm.
He demonstrated all of those whiles he was serving and he has improved his quality in terms of what he is now, he is a lawyer, he studied International Diplomacy and served in the UN.

So, putting all these together the President cannot 40 make a better choice than Mr Fanday Today to go and serve in the United Nations.
When you interact with him at a personal level, he is so soft spoken, you want to think that he cannot be a soldier, but when he takes a decision and stands by it you would know he gets firmness behind that quite disposition that you see.

So, against that backdrop, a diplomat he will be and I am sure that the Military background that he has will make him stand firm when he wants to take a decision.
When we spoke about the issue of climate change which the Honourable Kandeh Yumkella was very personate about, he had a way of responding and we took that into consideration and also reminded him of the issue of the continental shelves for which we have lost a lot of money, but I am sure he will do his research knowing for whatever we might have lost will be regain through diplomacy and checking out what the international bodies like the UN wants to do about that because the issue of climate change is very serious.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, let me take this opportunity to talk about something which has not been mentioned, the deforestation taking place, the excessive logging of timber we must pay attention to that otherwise this country will in years to come be decimated.

We do not want to be a desert like other countries because we have been to Niger, we have been to some other places and we know that the logging that is taking place is beyond imagination.
Let us be honest about it and let us address that issue please.

I want to use this opportunity to call on this House to approve these nominees, and that when you go to the UN, pay attention to climate change, let us actually do the things that we need to do to stop this excessive logging of timber to preserve our environment otherwise our children will suffer from our mistakes.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I do not want to take much of your time because if I stand here to talk about all these nominees, but let me do not forget to talk about the lady, who have been made the Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Like the Honourable from Kichon maintained that in the value change women are very pivotal and having somebody who is an agriculturist, a woman for that matter, let us give her big hands for that to be appointed in that position, I know she is going to do what is expected of her.
Let the women feel more comfortable in the value change addition because that is 41 what we actually need to process agricultural commodities and transform them for packaging and marketing to add value to them that is what the Honourable Member was talking about when he spoke about value chain and we all support you in that because we want to see more made Sierra Leone products on the shelves of our supermarkets.
We want to see them when we travel outside of Sierra Leone to see something in the shelves and say this one was made in Sierra Leone, I will buy proudly because I think I will be helping my economy.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, of course a career like diplomat Mr Rupert Davies, since I was going to school the name Rupert has been synonymous with diplomatic service.
So seeing his name in the list of people that have been nominated by the President was no surprise because I know that is where you belong, he is just coming home to where he believes he will be comfortable.

If you have made him a Director at the Ministry of Transport, I will say no He doesn’t belong there, but making him a career diplomat an Ambassador to Nigeria definitely I think is a choice that worth commending.
Nigeria again let me refer to what the Honourable said;” you cannot send a wishy washy diplomat in Nigeria.” He is somebody who is seasoned and I think Rupert Davies is the man.

On that note Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I think I want to ask that my colleagues in the House approve these gentlemen and a lady so that they will go and serve this country as expected.

So, like I said let us serve Sierra Leone and later party politics will come.

Thank you very much.


THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member for his contribution.

Over to you Leader of Government Business, I am sure you will do the House a favour Honourable, brevity is the soul of wilt.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Thank you very much Mr Speaker, thank you colleagues Honourable Members, for making your contributions for these gentle and lovely Sierra Leoneans here today.
We appreciate His Excellency, the President for looking into the basket of Sierra Leone to pick these fine gentlemen and a lady.

42 We are here today because we know them as Sierra Leoneans, but we know them on different platforms now by professionalisms and what they have exhibited with time.

I chaired the meeting and interviewed them, they said so many things, some of which you cannot be happy about, some which you have to accept, and I will just take them by scale of preference.
We said when you are in an institution you are allowed to do two things in that institution, you go through the institution and you allow the institution to go through you.
And in this scale of preference, I would like to take one of the appointees and the words were used in the Committee were not palatable but we just have to present them to this House because the veracity why we are here Mr Speaker, we say you are from Cambridge and when we are here in the 80s, you excelled because you went through a real discipline of education and we have to show that one in our narrative in terms of education, that we have to change the narratives.
We said these words Mr Speaker with your leave, I will quote directly from the report; ”staff right are led pervasive corruption not limited to examination frauds and by extension, stunted growths of our tertiary institutions partly due to the nature of curricula etc.” We know the person in question, Professor Wurie, he says; “you cannot predict the man’s future by his appearance but there are certain people you cannot describe their appearance by their ways in life, how successful they are going to be in life, cum Alhaji Fanday Turay, these are people you describe the way you see them and you can tailor them exactly where they are going.
Professor Alpha Wurie by his appearance he is an academic by no mean standing you accept it, there is family lineage.

I do not think nobody can refuse that one from his grandfather, father and coming to his children they are all academics.

So, you see them and he is leading in that drive.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Tertiary Education is a privilege entity, when you are there you want to make sure that you allow yourself to be properly groomed.
Today in this business of politics, why some of us are excelling or why we are at these positions, it is because we went through them.

We went through the likes of Alpha Wurie at Fourah Bay College, we allow institutions to take place where we are and we 43 took the disciplines in those institutions that are why we have people like Sajoh Aziz Kamara the proposed Deputy Minister.
He is going to be the subordinate to the Minister of Tertiary Education and that is the reason we have the Deputy Minister of Justices, Mr Napoleon Koroma and that is the reason why we have Leader of Government business, and that is the reason we have the Leader of the Opposition, and that is the reason we have the Honourable Abdul Kargbo is because we went through the school of taught, a discipline institutions we called the Auradicals Club and political entity groomed us to be where we are today.
We allow ourselves not because we were stupid but we were very clever students.

So, if you are a reference student you don’t go to the Auradicals Club that is a complete discipline, which is an academic way of meeting.

The Minister of Information was a great talker...

THE SPEAKER: I am learning something new today, go ahead.

HON.
HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, I have to say this because you see is like when we are in Parliament the way we interrelate is difficult for you to understand because we have the trait in us and we are groomed to be politicians not to be partisan politicians but national politicians that is the way you see our characters.
We are in the SLPP, we are in the APC, we are everywhere, and we are conglomerate of politicians in all the circles of activities that is the reason why I know how to negotiate and to get Honourable Yumkella around me.

Mr Speaker, I passed through the Rubicon and is a very serious entity to pass through the Rubicon to be where we are today.
So, there are two ways you can be educated; you can have your first class degree but if you don’t go through the Rubicon it means you have done nothing much in the academic field.

Mr Speaker that is the reason when you look at people like Sajoh Aziz Kamara, he is our mentor, once a president of [OBBA].

I don’t like praising people but I will like to talk about them when they do good things because they have profiles.
The United Nations, South Sudan peace keeping he did very well and we know you are going to excel because in this business of leadership you have to open up, you have to have clean mind.

How do you direct people?

If you are a lecturer or a teacher and to take them 44 through, you can be a very successful Minister and that is Professor Wurie.

I know because the New Direction is talking about Human Capital Development and we are talking about grooming people to take the level of education.
Education is not only about you reading books, is how you administer yourself as a nation builder, how you control the national administration, how you go about to do things that befit the status of what you have learnt.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we are happy that we have these gentlemen and lady with us and if you look at her profile for example; as the Honourable Chernor Maju Bah was saying; “it is very clear she is a professional, but I encourage her not to put politics in her professionalism because we are dealing with politicians.

She also proved herself at the Ministry of Youth.


When we talk about youth farm, she always talks extensively about extension workers and if you don’t talk about extension workers and you are talking about technology coming into the field of Agriculture, how are you expecting farmers to transmit that technology in order to be very useful in their production at the end of the day.

If you don’t try to disseminate that particular technology it means you are doing nothing.
So, talking about our entity in terms of Agricultural research centres, you have to talk about the extension workers and she dealt with that in her interview.

She said in her research; “I was very frustrated because I was not able to meet with the extension workers when I was doing my thesis for my PHD.” So, we acknowledge that she is a professional but we encourage her to put politics outside her profession because she is taking a position where she has to deal with politicians.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have talked much about diplomacy.

For example; we talked about somebody who have worked as a soldier by standards but his appearance and discipline tells a lot in the field of diplomacy and peace keeping building and in the field of bringing Sierra Leone at a level where we think we can have a diplomatic discussion in terms of Sierra Leone at the height.
He is not only talking about peace building, but he has also acted in various capacities as expressed in this particular presentation made by the Honourable Chernor Bah and also Honourable 45 Yumkella.
We are looking up to him when we talk about climate change, and he said in his interview; “I will like to promote Sierra Leone by taking the vision of His Excellency, the President and he is part of the vision to see how all of us can combat the issue of climate change Phenomenon.” So, we look up to you Sir because you have the influence in the UN sector as you have done in the past.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, what I admired in this set of nominees we have today is the United Nation building team from the educational aspect.

We have Sahr Joe Kamara; we have Alhaji Fanday Turay that is going to represent us at UN.
So, we must express some synergy in terms of education, when you talk about Tertiary Education, you are talking about disseminating the global change in terms of telling them what the new phenomenon for collaboration to take place is, so we expect this collaboration to take place.
I will also like to talk about a young man who has excelled in the field of administration and politics, young man we are all looking up to, he is a politician not by birth because by birth is a traditional ruler, Chief Hindowa Bindi.

He is a very young man coming up; he has excelled in various fields of discipline.
For me, is not about what you expressed in your youthful time, is about what you do as young person, and is about the service delivery you give to people that is the humble man I am talking about.

He is a very humble man and a gentle one, he has served all of us, he has served me when I was the Admin Officer at the Party office administrative and in that field so many things happened.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am pleased today to see him here as a Deputy Minister, he is a man who can submit himself to any terms and conditions as long as there is a success, there is a clear vision of what he is doing that makes him an administrator, and I believe he is going to that Ministry with an enormous challenges and we expect him with the disciple given to him to perform.
He has gone through various institutions, and that he can obey and rightfully do what is necessary and work with his Boss so that they can succeed in that Ministry.

We talk about Sexual Offences Act, we have to deal with that, we have to talk about Child Right Act; we have to talk about the Women’s Right, so many things that we have to talk about.
46 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, of course we talked about Rupert Davies as a professional even by his simpler looks of description, he has done well in the field of diplomacy, but even in the field of interaction from the Opposition all over people are talking about him.

We are not putting square pegs in round holes but we are putting them in the appropriate holes where they are fit to be.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, having gone through all of these nominees which we carefully interviewed, I will end up with the Minister himself who is a devoted man in talking about the bread and butter issue.

There is no way you have to talk about agriculture without talking about right tools, it has to be practical.

We have done so much in the area of extensive mechanized farming system and we asked the proposed Deputy Minister of Agriculture to talk about the incorporation of the private sector.
We talk about tractorlisation so much but we have not seen a lot in that field.

So, what he has done in his own vision before acting Minister and now Minister to be, what he has done he said we are going to incorporate the private sector and incorporating the private sector you don’t just have to bring them, he said he is going to bring regulation that will bind the private sector with that of the Ministry.
We have to support them, we have to give them the free hands, and we have to ensure that we have tractors distributed at District levels, so our famers can get access to it, but we asked him about the food production and the rice production that they have talked so much about in the agricultural sector.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, what are you expecting him to do?
Is for the affordability and the accessibility of the rice production, if people have the availability they can purchase it at a minimal cost as long it is produced in Sierra Leone, we can change the narratives.
There is no way we are going to develop as a nation if we cannot produce 90% of our staple food, I don’t know if the statistic is right, our staple food is imported, now how are we going to stabilize our economy, how are we going to stabilize the economy of the nation if we are importing our staple food?

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, you are talking about mechanized farming system and you have extended the issue of talking about Rokupr.
So, if you are talking about 47 all of those things by incorporating private sector, you are not coming with the private sector to use them, you are coming with the private sector to ensure that there is production at the end of the day, because we have so many unutilized land that we need to make use of and we have not utilized them because we are not making use of our famers.
We politicized our policies but now what he has done I repeat myself, he has decided to bring in the private sector, and the regulations we are going to look for.

So, I believe he will work in that direction, so we can ensure that there is a comfortable right for the private sector.

So, Mr Karim, is a very good move if you can talk about the rice production at Tomabum bum that is a very good move for Sierra Leoneans, we could be proud of.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, when we talk about human capital development, you talk about agricultural production and agriculture rice production has with food sufficiency; and there is no way you are going to improve your capacity if there is an empty stomach.

So, you have to believe that in terms of agriculture, let us change the narrative, so I thank you very much for all your contributions.

Thank you very much for taken your time to elucidate the challenges.
Honourable Emerson Lamina it is the responsibility of the President to hire and fired as enshrined in the Constitution Section [61] of Act NO: 6.

Today, we are all happy for our nominees, we are all praising them, we have used adjectives to present them to this nation, but what we cannot take out from His Excellency, the President is the responsibility to hire and fire, he can fire them at any time which is his own Executive’s power.
But we can encourage all of us to do our Oversight functions, when we do our Oversight functions as Members of Parliament we guide the institution, we tell them how we are going, how we develop as a nation, how do we bring on Sierra Leoneans on board so that Members of the diaspora can join in this New Direction government, so we can develop Sierra Leone.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, thank you very much for your various contributions and I hope and pray that these gentlemen and ladies as they go through the approval of this House and when they go out there they are expected to perform as expressed in their résumé.

Thank you very much may the Lord bless us all.

48 THE SPEAKER: And with that.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Sorry Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I move that the Honourable House approve the following nominees for approval.
THE SPEAKER: That is an abbreviation whenever you are in this House.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Sorry, I don’t want to read the whole procedure but I will go over it.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the first report of the fifth session of the Committee on Appointment and the Public Services that are represents of the Presidential nominees to this Honourable House for approval.
[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Motion of the Committee on Appointment and the Public Service as amended has been approved] THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, it is now my turn to add my own voice on the approval of these nominees and say that all the speakers before me have re-echoed the common thing that they all hold the nominees of His Excellency, the President in very high esteem and like His Excellency, all Members who have spoken have also reposed their trust and confident in the ability of the appointees to live up to the expectations of the entire House and this nation as a whole.
On behalf of Parliament it is my privilege and honour to extend my warmest congratulations and felicitation to all of you and to wish you well in your new under taken.

Some of you are well known, you have proven track records that are incontrovertible and all we can say to you, you go with our best wishes and we know you will excel for our country to move forward.

As that is what we all wish not only for our generation but for future generations as well.
Thank you for coming and good luck in your new assignments.

You may now take leave of us.

This House will stand down approximately 15 minutes to give us an opportunity to straighten our legs and we shall resume back.

THE HOUSE STOOD DOWN AT 1:15PM AND RESUMED AT 1:45PM 49 THE SPEAKER: The House resumes.

You don’t need a quorum now let go to the next item.
GOVERNMENT MOTION THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SANITATION DR AUSTIN DEMBY [The Minister of Health and Sanitation]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House hereby ratifies the following Agreements which were laid on the Table of the House on Monday the 10th of May 2021.

The Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency dated 11th February 2019.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, it is my great honour and privilege to address this August House on the subject of the ratification of the Treaty on the Africa Medicines Agency [AMA].

This is my first formal address to you since you approved my appointment as Minister of Health and Sanitation for which I remain very grateful.
Mr Speaker, the African Medicines Treaty was signed by Sierra Leone on the emergence of 33rd African Union summit in February of 2020 as you may recalled on Monday, May 10th 2021, Honourable Michelle Sidi Bay former under-secretary of the United Nation was here as a special envoy of the Africa Union to remind us of the need as a nation to consider and ratify the Treaty.

The Treaty was placed in the Well of this Parliament for your consideration and possible ratification.
Mr Speaker, the AMA Treaty if ratify will serve as a continental regulatory body that will provide regulatory leadership to ensure that they are harmonized and strengthen systems that govern the regulation of medicines and medical products in the African continent.

The AMA was entered first after Africa union Member States have ratified it.
When ratify Mr Speaker the AMA will regulate access to save effective and good quality and affordable essential medicines as well and help through coordination of on-going national and regional regulatory systems.

It will also strengthen and harmonised efforts by the Africa Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, and Regional Health 50 Organizations and Members State whiles providing them with regulatory guidance amongst others.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, when ratify the AMA would not only serve the prevalence of sub-standard and fortified medical products and technologies, but also ensure easy and affordable access to essential medicines on the continent.

AMA is indeed a corner stone for establishing a sustainable public health system in Africa.

Harmonisation efforts have already proved successful at the regional level in the East Africa Community [ESC] and the Southern Africa development community [SADC].
The Economic Community of West Africa States [ECOWAS] through collaborative efforts between the West Africa Health Organisations [WAHO] and West Africa Economic Monetary Union [WAMU] expressing show case that is possible with harmonisation.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the successes of these regional medicines regulatory harmonisation initiated in Africa served as evidence of the increasing need for an umbrella Agency that will fully earnest and combine the potential of all these bodies into a formidable continent that only regulatory Agencies and manufactures outside of Africa will have no choice but to reckon with.
You will no longer have to depend on other International Regulatory bodies to determine what is best for Africa in terms of medicines, vaccines and other health products.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, AMA will ensure that Members State and our international partners investing in regional initiatives as well as countries level activities get optimum value for the investment.
This will be achieved through effective coordination of initiatives and activities by safe guiding the medicines regulatory space in Africa.

I strongly believed that it is about time that we in Africa stand up for ourselves, and determine what medicines and vaccines are best for us rather than relying on others to determine what we get when we get them and in what quantities we get them.
The current COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of accessing and developing our own vaccines and medicines only save to remind us of the Agency of ratifying the Africa medicines Agency Treaty.

In that spirit Mr Speaker, I ask that this 51 August House favourably consider the ratification of this Treaty on the Africa Medicines Agency that is being before you for consideration.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House hereby ratifies the following Agreement which was laid on the Table in the House on Monday, the 10th of May, 2021.

Treaty for the establishment of the African Medicines Agency dated 11th February, 2019.

[Question Proposed] HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGBRARO SANKA III: Thank you Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, this is a very important Treaty and I am happy the Minister presented it very well and he spoke very highly of the Treaty, but I am asking the Minister; do we really have the requirement as a nation to treat the people of Sierra Leone?

Do we have the hospitals, the doctors, the specialists to really be boastful and accept this Treaty?
Definitely, everybody here I am sure will be happy to vote and ratify the African Medicine Agency Treaty of 11th February, 2019, I am happy that you brought the Treaty very quickly to Parliament.

Mr Speaker, you have been here for a long time, there were Treaties that we assigned in 1964, 1967, 1968 that have not been approved by the State of Sierra Leone.

There was a time when I was in the Pan Africa Parliament I found it embarrassing when Sierra Leone was name for not approving or ratifying Treaties.
I brought a whole bunch of them and presented them, some were approved, and some are up to now not approved.
But this is a very key issue and emotionally attached to things like this because I have seen my people suffering as I am speaking here, I think the Honourable Member of Parliament, form Constituency 054 brought it under S.O [23] that a young boy came out of school, claimed a mango tree and fell down and destroyed his back that is connected to his spinal cord, he is right now in the hospital, I had to order medicine from Turkey to stop the bed soar on his back.
It came in a day before yesterday, but they said the Doctor has to place it under him because is very technical 52 how they are going to handle the young boy.

We don’t even have medicines for that, we don’t even have a neurosurgeon in this country, now we are trying to find the way for this nation to take him abroad and see if he can be useful to society again.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the African Union brought in this Agreement and the Minister said it well that we would soon be having our drugs but in Sierra Leone do we have any Pharmacological Institution that can produce coding or paracetamol.

Everything comes from aboard.

Where are we as a nation?

You can be regulated but what are you going to regulate?

I listened to BBC commentary some few months back 75% of the drugs we use in Sierra Leone are all fake.
They came here and studied, they even went to various pharmacies, and I don’t want to call the big pharmacies in town but they find out that so many drugs were fake or might expired in few months.

THE SPEAKER: But you have the Standard Bureau?

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: Is it working?

The Standard Bureau I am glad you brought it Mr Speaker, go there the drugs some of these pharmacies are selling are printed in Arabic and Turkish.

we cannot even read them.


THE SPEAKER: And we also have Pharmacy Board.

HON.

P.C KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: I am telling you the practicality, we are setting institutions that are non-functional Mr Speaker… THE SPEAKER: They are not doing their work.

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: Well all of us are not doing our work because they are our brothers and sisters.

If we say the Army is corrupt, the Police, the Doctors and Parliament is the second corrupt entity, so who are you going to blame?
So therefore, now that we have got somebody, a sober minded Minister that can build a wonderful hospital that Sierra Leoneans can appreciate.

Look how much money that we are spending to take people to Ghana and you have to have political influence for you to be given $20,000 or $30,000 to be taken to Ghana.

I talked to famous Doctor in Sierra Leone, he said Ghana used to be good, but now they are trading on us.
People go there they don’t get the best as it used to be, so for us to have a Minister to bring in 53 the AMA Agreement, do we have the needful to operate in Sierra Leone?

You can enter any pharmacies and buy any drugs without a prescription, you cannot do that in South Africa and when we were in South Africa, we supported this Sir.

I was a Member of Parliament there, we debated this, so for me to stand here again and speak to my Minister, because I am passionate about.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I know how many women are dying trying to bring lives, I know the children that are dying, right now as I am talking the name of young student by the name of Osman Tony that is in ward three admitted, every day we are spending over LE250,000 just to keep him alive.

Where is Sierra Leone?

Mr Speaker, this is a very interesting and well place argument or debate in this House, we talk of quality education, and this is part of the quality education to produce quality Doctors.
How many students do we have in Fourah Bay Collage that are doing Chemistry, Physics and Maths.

How many schools have laboratories in Sierra Leone?

In the whole of Tonkolili District the only school with a lab is Magboruka Secondary School for Boys, built in 1950.
Where are we as a nation to produce good educated boys and the few educated Doctors we are producing immediately they graduated they fly for greener pastures you can’t blame them, because if you pay your Doctor $200 a month and he can get $10,000 a month somewhere, he has to look for higher height.
So Mr Minister, you have a whole work in your hands and we support you because you look well matured and great, well comported and we want you to begin to write projects for a national hospital that can have all the departments.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, a whole country like Sierra Leone doesn’t have a CT scan, no CT scan Sir, you pay LE5Mil to have an Hemmari at Eco med Hospital and I can tell you definitely that Eco med is owned by Government of Sierra Leone.
It has been seized over, I can give you documents; it is owned by Government of Sierra Leone.

The Government owns 60% but somebody manipulated and took it over making millions of Leones every day.

Eco med is not owned by the so call Leonard, I can give you the document, I did it before.

THE SPEAKER: Well this is a suitable subject for our Health Committee.

54 HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: Yes, so you can see?
THE SPEAKER: So please, no, no, Chief this is a very important statement you are making.

We cannot cross over it and I will like to direct here and now that the document you mentioned be made available to the Committee on Health.

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: Well they have to pay me for doing my research.

I am a consultant.

THE SPEAKER; It will be a deferred payment.

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: No, no.


THE SPEAKER: No, Chief we will talk about the payment later what is important right now please make those documents available to the Committee and we charge the Chairman of the Health Committee to ensure that the matter is thoroughly investigated and report to this House within the next four weeks.

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: Mr Speaker, I am saying that Sierra Leone as a nation… THE SPEAKER: And I hope the Clerks have recorded that?

HON.
HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGARO SANKA III: It doesn’t have a CT scan, the only hospital that has a CT scan is Choithram hospital, Life Care Hospital, Emergency Hospital and Eco -med, but the poor people cannot go there because they charge LE5Mil to do CT scan… THE SPEAKER: No, but Honourable Paramount Chief we thank you immensely for raising this matter but I am sure Eco -med all of us will attest to that they have CT scan and Hemmari… HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: Yes agreed Sir.


THE SPEAKER: Therefore, the issue you have raised assume even greater important because of that, you cannot find those machines anywhere else in the country.

Now, if that particular facility has been expropriated by one person as you alleged then it is worthy of scrutiny by this Parliament.

So, we want to thank you for that.

55 HON.


P.C BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: 60% of the shares were given to the Government of Sierra Leone, 20% should have gone to the public and 20% should have gone to the Doctors in Ghana that was how it was put in place but they used people and took it away it becomes a private property in this country, long time, more than 10 years ago.

A Government of the day, there is always a Government...
THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, what the Chief is saying is important let him now help us through the Committee to regain and recover what rightfully belongs to the nation.

HON.P.C BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: I will speak to my Minister because if 60% should have gone to the Ministry of Health.

Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for giving me the Floor because we the Chiefs carry so many burdens.

You see your people suffering, you have no choice but to dish out whatever support you can give.
So, for us to get the Africa Medicine Agency it is very good, but where are the logistics?

What is happening with the CT scan that was provided in Connaught, nothing, they brought in a Ghanaian to run it and nothing is happening there, now it is closed, why?

So, you have a whole job to do.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I thank the Government for bringing this treaty to Parliament and we hope the new Minister will do everything to have a very wonderful national hospital that can take care of every Sierra Leonean not only to be flown out of the country but everybody be giving the opportunity to be treated as a human being.

I thank you Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Paramount Chief.
Before I call on the next speaker, I want us to adopt a new procedure here.

I make directive some time and somehow we don’t get any effective follow up on decisions that we make in this Parliament.

So, let this session make a difference and I don’t know which of the Table Clerk is the most senior?

We charge you with the responsibility of making sure that we follow up on decisions made by Parliament.
Let me remind you now, we made one the last time relating to if you look at page 9 of Votes and Proceedings we charged the 56 Chairperson of the Committee on Transport and Aviation to summon the key players namely; SLRSA, Sierra Trading Company, BEHAG, IAS, NPPA and the Ministry of Transport and Aviation to examine the issue raised by the Honourable Catherine Zainab Tarawally and to report to the House within two weeks.
Honourable Members, so when we ask him for follow up, this is what we mean that within those two weeks you must make sure that a report is presented to the House.
So we charge you as the most senior Table Clerk with that responsibility and the second one is the directive just made that the Committee on Health should try and obtain the relevant document to which reference has been made by the Honourable Paramount Chief and to enquire into the matters that the Chief has mentioned here with regard to the ownership and control of Eco med and to report to the House within the next 4 weeks.
We want to know the true ownership of Eco med and if we discover that indeed there has been some expropriation of public property, then it is a proper subject of concern to Parliament and we shall take the necessary decisions once we get the report from the Committee.

I will call on you but my next speaker is Honourable A.K.K after him.

HON.

ABDUL K. KOROMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, for years past we have been struggling with medical doctors in Sierra Leone.
I must say thank you, the new Minister.

Just a week ago I heard he is planning for Njala University and the Ernest Bai Koroma University in the north to offer courses relating to producing medical Doctors.

I think that is a good initiative that would address the needs of medical Doctors.
Today, we are here talking about having a Treaty to ratify the deal with African Medicines but my questions may be; Mr Minister, have you critically gone through what we have as a Ministry and have you visited the medical facilities in Sierra Leone to ascertain there current state?

What we have in Sierra Leone now is one which no Member of Parliament would dare send his wife or children to a Government hospital, our health sector is in such a shape that is so bad.
I was fortunate to be in Connaught Hospital for couple of two weeks when my Aunt was there and when I watched the 57 status of the number one referral hospital it was nothing to write home about and as it is now we speak before the strike action Connaught itself was in a very bad shape.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, you go to the mortuary department, it is stink and that is so bad to a point you would not even like to visit a patience let alone to be admitted there.
When the President continues to talk about Human Capital Development I wonder where the health sector fall within the bracket.

But for me the Treaty we have is so much important, so much necessary and so much needed, but beyond the Treaty now, beyond the scope we have in the document, what do we actually have as citizens?

We still have hospitals in Western Area where you don’t have water at all; you don’t have a standby generator.
I raised this matter some months ago and it was all over social media and it was very much a topical issue to a point strikes were held all over in our hospitals.

I tend to wonder if there is no good hospital in our cities what is left for us in the villages.

We don’t have professionals; I visited a clinic in Constituency 062… HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Point of Order.


Mr Speaker, this is a Treaty set to regulate Africa Medicine Agency, it is all about how to do with the Administration, harmonisation, and safety measures for sub standards medical products.

It is a Treaty talking about the structures we have, it is a procedure and process.

Please sit down Honourable Members, I beg.


If you have read this document, you will realise that there is a whole section of setting up a Board of administration, and there is a whole section that talks about why we need regulations.

This emanated from the submit we had in Abuja, the Treaty is not talking about our own structure, it is talking about how to re- strengthen our structures we have.
You furthermore said; we have Standard Bureau but they are not working, so we are not dominated by the World Health Organisation [WHO] but to have an African harmonising Agency where we can regulate ourselves.

Please let us stop this pulling down syndrome thing, and let us talk to the Treaty.

Where were we when COVID-19 destroyed the Americans?

All over the World it is the same, let us now believe in what we are doing.
The document we have here let us see how we can handle it and solve some of these problems we have?

It is not talking 58 about Rokupa Hospital or talking about one million hospitals we have.

There is a Treaty coming to help us for the substandard drugs we are having in this country, this is the strategy how do we strengthen our health system?

I don’t mean to interrupt you but I just want you to look at the Treaty in a true face, about our weak structures we have.

Thank you Sir.
Thank you Sir.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Leader of Government Business for drawing the attention of the House to the issue of relevance.

Much as you perfectly entreat the Honourable Abdul Karim Koroma to draw attention to the short comings in our Health system, I think let us save that for another day and come directly to the issue before us and that is the rectification of the AMA and other allied issue can be addressed.

HON.

ABDUL K. KOROMA: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.


If you talk about building empowering Institutions and you don’t want to talk about the current state of the Institutions you are about to empower then I wonder what we are really talking about here because we are talking about the Treaty that is going to help us.
How do I go to help you when I don’t know your current state and if we shy to talk about our current state as a country, if we shy to talk about our Health Sector then we are not even helping the Minister to know what he is taking over and he is a new Minister not just been new but he has not been in Sierra Leone for a very long time.
So let us be plain and face the reality, nobody has blamed anybody politically for what is happening, we are just saying the status of our Health Sector in Sierra Leone is bad that is not a secret, it is bad to a point that I cannot take my wife to a Government Hospital in Sierra Leone.

Let us face the reality Mr Speaker, of course, let us don’t go more than that.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, somebody was talking about Standard Bureau in this House, I think I raised the issue of Standard Bureau in this House and you delegated that matter and it over two months nothing has come out of it.
The issue with Standard Bureau is that they don’t have the equipment to do their job, they barely have one working vehicle, the entire Standard Bureau in Sierra Leone has only ninety staff to cover the entire Sierra Leone, and this is something I have reported in this House over 59 and over again on the condition of Standard Bureau, they don’t even have the equipment.
So, let us don’t talk as if Standard Bureau does not want to do their work or is a kind of negligent no, they don’t have the man power, they don’t have the resources, they don’t have the technical know-how, and nothing is in Standard Bureau.

So, let don’t even measure Standard Bureau when we talk about situation of these.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Treaty is very important because today even the drugs abuse by young people, those are the days when young people will go out for all the drugs, now they use medical drugs as a substance to feel high; tramadol for example, these are legal drugs that are meant for hospital use, but they have been misused by young people simply because every pharmacy can sell any drug to anybody at any time.

Our health sector is badly damaged, let us face the reality and let try to fix it.
I was just saying I went to a village called Yokai, it is better for a woman to deliver outside than to be delivered in the hospital, that is the state of the Hospital and we need to say it.

Even if you go to Cottage Hospital and your wife is to deliver in that Hospital, you have to buy water and jelly can of water which is very costly.
This is the current state of our health sector and it is bad if we cannot protect our citizens, if we cannot make our Health Sector better off, it is of no use signing Treaty that would just be on paper.

When you look at the allocation to the Health Sector and the reality of our Health Sector is rotten, I don’t have better words to say, I would say it as I feel it.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Point of Order again.


Whiles America and other African countries are struggling with COVID-19 we were rated by CDC as one of the best country safe to travel because of our control measures were put in place of COVID-19.

What else you can talk about?

This type of cheap politics we have to leave them, we have the Treaty in front of us, how Cottage Hospital has to do with given birth to children, this has to do with Treaty, we are talking about setting up regulations.
I have said it, you have not read the Treaty, you are just trying to make fake political point, is not good Mr Speaker.

I have said; let us speak to the Treaty, is not just references.

So, now we have the question, let me charge you, where do we have jelly can of water taking to Cottage Hospital?

We don’t have it here, what we have here is 60 the Treaty we are talking about, what we are talking about, is what we have on the Order Paper.

So, bringing in unnecessary things is not even call for.
We cannot allow that type of cheap politics you are playing here, let us discuss the issue we have in front of us.

We all can play politics but this has to do with the lives of our people and substandard drugs coming to Sierra Leone and set a standard for Africa Medicine Agency, goodness sake not Standard Bureau.

This is a different entity, there is going to be a Board of Administration, and there is going to be a regulatory entity.
I have to make the things very clear before I rap up; I have made Point of Order Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: Make your Point of Order.


A Point of Order is well taking, it falls under S.O [32]5 and I want to draw your attention Honourable Member, from Kambia to [32]5 “A Member must confine his observations to the subject under discussion and may not introduce matter irrelevant there to.” Of course, the question of relevant or irrelevant can be subjective here, but let us try and keep within the confines of what is before us and not to stretch too far out side of it.

HON.
HON.

ABDUL K. KAMARA: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.

You know I expected much from the Leader of Government Business, but saying it is a political statement when our people are suffering and it is fake political statement, I leave him with the conscience of the ordinary people.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, that statement is very derogatory.
I based my argument on subject matter you have stated [32]5, what you are saying is not on the Order Paper, it is not under discussion, is talking about Treaty, the statement is very derogatory.

What you have said Honourable Member, is very derogatory.

I made reference, I stood on Standing Order and the Speaker has made that one very clear that you should talk to the Treaty you have in front of you, you have rant and rant and I said no, and you are talking about me in a derogatory statement, why?
I did not attack you personally, I made reference to the Standing Order and you were talking about Cottage Hospital here, we don’t have Hospital here on the Order Paper, we are talking about regulatory agency, I have referred you to the administration of the Treaty which is African Medicine Agency.

Thank you Sir.

61 THE SPEAKER: I will limit you to two more minutes and please address the subject under discussion directly, don’t stray too wide.
I know it is somehow related but in this particular instance we are here to ratify a Treaty.

HON.

ABDUL K. KAMARA: When you agreed that it is related I stop from there and I want to say the 75% of drugs that are being administered according to the Paramount Chief in our Hospitals where our people go, but if we say today as law makers and because we have the opportunity to get better medical facilities is not important to talk about, S.O [2] wi lef wi case gee God.

Thank you very much Mr Speaker.

HON.


MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker Point of Order.

He is an Honourable Member; he has cited provision and said 75% of our drugs are substandard.

I am now asking that you submit to us the reference point of that survey?

Let him give us the survey, this is a Honourable House, you need to give us the evidence that 75% of our drugs that are coming to this country are substandard and when we get that one we now charge Standard Bureau that they are supposed to do their work.
The last time we amended the Standard Bureau Act, so we are charged with the responsibility of taking the over sight to them and I will recommend the Executive the next step.

So, I urged you now to present to us this Honourable House that the survey that deals with 75% of our drugs are substandard given to our people in the Hospital.

I submit my case.

HON.

ABDUL K. KAMARA: The Honourable Bai Kurr spoke before me and he mentioned it and I quoted what Honourable Paramount Chief Bali Kurr said.
I know my Leader was not listening… THE SPEAKER: Point of reference.

HON.

ABDUL K. KAMARA: I referenced what Honourable Paramount Chief Bai kurr Kanagbaro said; 75% of our drugs been used according to a survey are fake.

I quoted Honourable Paramount Chief Bai Kurr, he is here let him confirm that with the Leader of Government Business.

Thank you very much Mr Leader.

THE SPEAKER: You may take your seat, Honourable Member.

62 HON.

IBRAHIM B. KAMARA: Thank you Mr Speaker, Honourable Members.
I would like to thank the Minister for this Treaty and indeed the serious consideration that has been given by this Government to the issues of Health for some of us.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, what is going on?

Honourable Latiff0, gentlemen if you are to hold any meeting you do so outside.

The three of you please go outside, either you take your seat or go outside now.

Is most unbecoming of MPs, listen to your colleagues when they take the Floor.
I am very tolerant but you are pushing me to the limit.

HON.

Dr. IBRAHIM B. KAMARA: Thank you Mr Speaker.

Indeed, I am much encouraged to make my contribution.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, some of us who are behind the old school, I will not say I am part of the old school, but a little bit behind the old school like Mr Speaker, and the Honourable Dr Kandeh K. Yumkella with all due respect.

We say; that health is wealth and indeed we also say that prevention is better than cure.
I am sure those are words that resonate even to those that referred to themselves as the new school or may be the dot com generation.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I am very delighted with this Treaty because for a developing Africa countries to try and standardise medicines not only from curative but also to prevention because medicines we know do not only cure but help us to prevent.
As we see in this current pandemic of COVID-19 were propagating now the issue of the vaccine of which there is all necessary means for us as a country to ensure that we have our own specialist that would make sure the various vaccine that are there in the world suit us as Sierra Leoneans, believe you me the vaccines as we are seeing in the world Mr Minister, those that suit the Americans do not suit the Indians.
As we see what is happening in Indian today, vaccines are there been given to people but the pandemic keeps worsening.

We should learn from these experiences and then why I want to focus my submission today Mr Speaker, on the preventive aspect of health is our sanitation.

63 Mr Minister, you are in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, sanitation is part of the core of the preventive aspect of health.

We have a lot of challenges in the sanitation sector, the preventive health in general.
Freetown not to talk of restoring but wouldn’t want the mistake we have made in Freetown to reoccur in our emerging cities like in Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Falaba, and so on and so forth, let us learn from those mistakes.

Our preventive aspect of health is critical, health is wealth and prevention is better than cure.

Therefore, we need to pay more attention to the prevention part of it.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, if you remember of course, I can spend a whole day here talking about preventive health care and sanitation but I will like to zero in and cut the story short to the fact that we have serious challenges in the preventive sector, essentially our sanitation is seriously challenged in Freetown and the emerging cities in our country; Falaba, Port Loko, Makeni, where ever it is, we have serious challenges to prevent our people even the health here how sure are we that the vaccines do suit our biological physiology?.
Have we allowed our physicians, our specialists, and our medical practitioners to certify any of the vaccines in the World?

Because these vaccines I will tell you, those that are working in Europe and America are not working in India, as we are seeing very shortly, now What about us here?

We need to have our core health practitioners to advise us and the way forward.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I wouldn’t want to prolong this intervention of mine but I think the message is there.
The fact is that health is wealth and prevention is better than cure.

Please Mr Minister, let us look up to the aspect of sanitation to prevent diseases and so our curative measures will be well minimised.

I thank you very much Mr Speaker.

THE SPEAKER: I think that is the Chairperson of the Health Committee.

HON.

MOSES B. JORKIE: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.


Before I start my debate I want to say thanks to Honourable Paramount Chief Bai Kurr for given us very important information which the Committees on Heath will work with it.

I want to assure you Mr Speaker, that the date giving to my Committee we will surely work towards that particular date and give you the outcome.
64 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to say thanks to the Minister and also His Excellency, the President for making available these documents to Parliament.

Whenever we hear of Heath, I hope everybody will be over whelmed with it because as the saying; goes Health is wealth.
This particular document is actually dealing with our Health and the Health of Africans also, is a Treaty which we have to look into and we try to ratify so that we will be part of the global World, it is a very important document as other speakers were saying.

One thing this document talks of is the quality of drugs, and how safe it is, and the other one is also talking about the substandard and falsified drugs which are in town.
If you go to pharmacies, you will realise that there are falsified drugs, as one of my brothers made mentioned of the percentage.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, let me give you a brief history of what happened in the last Parliament.

During the last Parliament, the Committee on Health went on Oversight, they decided to oversee some pharmacies here in Freetown, could you believe after inspecting two pharmacies, we were getting calls from Parliament, which I hope you will not do.
In fact we were stopped at that point, we could not continue with the Oversight activity, and we later made to understand that it is above our purview.

So, therefore in other to deal with the substandard drugs, I hope Parliament will be part of Pharmacy Board in other to look into the issue of substandard drugs which is prevalence in this country.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, for the African Medicines to exist and Sierra Leone to be part of, it is a very laudable idea, we appreciate this document and as you go through this document the weak regulatory system been put in place has led to the proliferations of substandard drugs coming into the country is actually a true statement.
If Africans come together and have a regulation that will bind the manufacturing of substandard drugs it will be very much fine for Africans because they want to make sure that Africans have good health.

One thing I also read in this document which I am really pleased with is the native treatment been profiled in this document, the local practitioners or traditional healers are very much paramount.
If I can go to Mattru Jong where Doctor Becker was operating by then, he was a renowned Doctor, what made 65 him a renowned Doctor, because he was having two sets of people that were working with him, he had a witch Doctor and also a fracture Doctor.
When a patient is being brought to that particular hospital and they found out that there is something dealing with witch, Doctor Becker will call upon the man dealing with witch craft to come and help in the treatment of that patient, while he is giving his actual treatment to that patient.
At the end of the day both of them will come out victorious, likewise when he is dealing with fracture case, if he is also treating a case with multiple fracture and the rest he will also call on that particular native Doctor who deals with fracture, both of them will be treating that patient, at the end of the day both of them will come out victorious.

That was the good aspect of Doctor Becker at the end of the day he bears the good name.
So, people were actually praising Doctor Becker all over, he never condemned the native Doctors.

So, therefore this document is a very good one.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, one thing about this particular document is the Board which is being established, is a very good one.

If we ratify this Treaty today I want to believe that virtually Sierra Leone will be at better place in terms of health.

We cannot go into the Nitti gritty which my brothers were talking about, we wait for Presidential Address.
If we have not fortunate to have read this Treaty then you will not go deep into it, that is why you see Honourable Members, trying to deviate what is in this Treaty because they have not gone through it, but actually the African countries have come together to establish an institution so at the end of the day they will provide good medication for the people of Africa.

If that is what they are really yearning at, at the end I see no reason why we should go against this Treaty.
So, without wasting time I want to encourage other Parliament to ratify this Treaty because it is good for all Africans.

Thank you very much.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member, for his contribution.

We now wind up the debate starting with you.

HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.


Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, for everything that we have to deal with in this House, we first of all look if the initiative is good, yes it is good, why is the initiative 66 good because we have always been complaining about getting substandard drugs, getting medication that are not fit for purpose in our midst.
Now the collective idea of African nations coming together to address the issues on the bases of collective understanding is indeed a commendable effort.

What we are saying here is that, we have always said and we will continue to say so.

Anything that is good for the people in this country we will support, such an idea is a laudable one and we will support it as long as it is meant for the good of our people.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, one aspect which my colleague mentioned is the blending of traditional medicine with modern scientific methods because those are areas which there have been a lot of research done even at Njala University.
I remembered my late brother wrote a document on traditional plants that are used for medication, we used a lot of traditional medicines but because they have not been scientifically proven definitely they cannot be prescribe in our hospitals, but now this document is creating a situation wherein we can use tradition medicines and blend it with modern medication.
So, if that is the case we would appreciate the effort, what we need to do now is to ensure we put together our local infrastructure to match with the needs of this Treaty because talking about these things on paper is good but when it comes to domesticating them let the health care professionals here be given the wherewithal to ensure that they are able to incorporate what we have in this document to make it local.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the African Union now taking such initiatives tell us that they are thinking along the lines of the welfare of the African people that they are serving in the African Union.

So, we would not say much for now, we would approve this Treaty, we would definitely not stand in the way of having such Treaty being ratified in this House because if that happens then it means we don’t care for the people we represent.
We care for our people so we would ratify this Treaty, but we want to ensure that when this Treaty is ratified, people are supposed to actualise what is in this document is actualized at work to make sure that we get the desired result or the targeted beneficiaries do benefit from such initiatives.
67 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, having the Minister sitting in front of us, I remembered when we were vetting him, we all spoke very well of him because of his credential, and because of what we know his background to be.
If he is coming with an initiative of this nature and even if he is the fortunate one to have been on the seat when this Treaty comes, we will believe that knowing him for having penchant for thoroughness will have this Treaty actualized, and Sierra Leone as a country will benefit from this initiative, and African sub-continent will definitely have tremendous benefit from such an initiative.

What are we saying here?


It is time for Africans to start looking within, let us match our own solutions to our problems.

Now, if you follow the current COVID-19 crisis, you go to India, you have AstraZeneca vaccine, you go to China, they have their own vaccine and Pfizer vaccine etc.

but no African country has told us that we have the African vaccine.
This initiative, if it becomes successful, if we ratify this Treaty, and if it is actualised as prescribed in this document definitely we would be talking about creating a vaccine that is meant for Africans because we know some medication that might work in Europe might not work in Sierra Leone or in other parts of Africa because of the different climate.

So, we would not definitely stand in the way of this document because the document itself is thorough.
The initiative is laudable and we would want to see the implementation, when it is being domesticated, how do we all benefit is what we want to see.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we will not stand in the way of this Treaty because the Treaty even the way it is being brought to this Parliament is good, the writings are very well put, but we want to make sure that when it is being implemented, we want to see, we would ratify it, to actually derive the benefits that are expected to be derived from such a document.

I thank you very much.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Member, over to you Leader of Government Business.

HON.
HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I thank you very much for your contribution towards this Treaty from the African Medicine Agency.

This is a very good move for us to strengthen our Health Sector because we are faced with 68 enormous challenges and that is the reason we are sitting on this type of structure to regulate the use of medicines.

We need an Agency that can monitor some of these things that are happening in our Health Sector.
Our affirmation in this Treaty is to ensure that we have quality control measures.

When you talk about quality control, it means you are preventing substandard drugs; we are adequately going against substandard drug by having regulations and that is why we have the African Medicine Agency.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we have re-echoed that safety and efficacious medical health products are fundamental for the health and safety of African population.
These are the reasons we are coming together to have this Agency and these are the fundamentals things we are looking for.

How do we come about having Treaty like this?

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in Abuja in 2005 when the Heads of State met they charged the Commission with the responsibility of coming out with a clear mandate to have the African Manufacturing entities for drugs to benefit from that particular Industry.
But it is clear in the Treaty that after the 55th session they decided to have NEPA which is the New Partnership for African development and because they were charged with the responsibility at the AU Mission so that we can have Manufacturing Industries, they are now charged with the responsibility of setting up all of these structures in Africa and thereafter on the 29 and 30 they met also in January 2012 after the 2005, they also agreed that we should have an harmonising entity talking about the Regional Economic Community and with that of the Health Organisation.
So, if I just read the aims and objectives of this particular Treaty as I mentioned the safety and efficacious medical products which are fundamental to the safety and health of the African population.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the objectives of AMA is very clear, as I read it in Article [4]; “the main aim of the African Medicine Agency is to enhance capacity of state parties and the Regional Economic Communities to regulate medical products in order to improve access to quality safe and efficacious 69 medical products on the African continent.” Somebody mentioned about having African model in the vaccine, today we are talking about Africans, we can realise that some of these structures were set even when we had the EBOLA is also address in this particular Treaty.
There is a leadership structure in this business, watch the leadership structure and credibility of this document.

If you look at Article [5] the guiding principles behind the leadership of what we are about to do to this Agency is very clear.
Let me read; “the AMA is an institution that provides strategic direction and promote good public health practices in state parties through capacity building.” Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I heard my colleague was talking about the Minister of having empowered the Ernest Bai Koroma University with that of Njala University.
So he is also coming with the advance leadership skills towards having an African Medicine Agency public health practice in State members and to promote quality improvement and empowerment in the delivering of medical products regulations.
So in respective of all what we have; talking about the Pharmacy Board, talking about the Standard Bureau, we are addressing our guiding principles in this Agency, some of these things that we think are substandard for African, population and detrimental to our health, and what is the credibility in this Treaty.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the AMA strongest asset is the trust to cultivate with its beneficiaries and stakeholders as respected evidenced based institution; it will play an important role in championing effective communication information sharing across the continent.

In fact we are talking about harmonization when you check the sub regional structure in West Africa, in this very Treaty there is already cooperation.
So, what we are doing is to harmonize, there is cooperation between West Africa with that of East Africa in terms of Regional Economic Communities, there is also cooperation between the Central Africa and North Africa.
In fact Mr Speaker, that is very clear in this Treaty in page 2, the last paragraph which talks about the implementation of ARMH programs in the Central Africa Region and the North Eastern Africa Regional collaboration and harmonization under the leadership of Inter-Governmental authority 70 on development.
Just talking about the cooperation, and just trying to highlight some of the issues to allay the fear of my colleagues on the other side and the functions of this Treaty is very clear, the scientific aspect of this Treaty because they are saying how do we share information, how do we look at the scientific nature of Africa, is very clear, very important, the function of what we are going to do.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, in Page 11, paragraph I; “provide regulatory guidelines, scientific opinions and a common framework for regulatory actions on medical products as well as priorities and emerging issues and pandemic in the event of public health emergency.” So, there is a vision why we want to have African Medicine is because my colleague on the other side highlighted that if you are talking about the AstraZeneca vaccine, you are talking about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, the AstraZeneca is talking about the underline ailment.
If you have an underlined ailment you go for the AstraZeneca vaccine, for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine the Americans are using it and the Pfizer the Germans and Americans are using it, but what fit Africans.

These are the reasons we are addressing these issues here.

So, emerging issues and pandemic in the event of public health and emergency with cross border regional implications where new medical products are to be deployed for investigations at clinical trials.
It is a right move in the right direction for us to have the African Medicine Agency as a regulatory body when we have pandemic and other emerging issues coming up.

I thank you very much Mr Minister for bringing out this Treaty and bringing us to modern times.

We have to talk about Africa cooperation out of our research based on science and also our regional cooperation based on what is common, we already have some of these structures.
So what you think we can do when ECOWAS is mentioned, you can now with your good office, collaborate with the other entities, fix in place the structures you can have because there is a whole administrative structure that deal with this particular Treaty.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, if you go to the other Article is well enshrined and so you as a Minister, is your duty to ensure that how do we domesticate some of these 71 things, how do we benefit, how do we share knowledge from one member State to another.

These are some of the things we are yearning for you to do so that we can have a better AMA, as highlighted by the Paramount Chief.
So, this Treaty is good for us as we are faced with current pandemic, we had one for Ebola which another structure was formed.

It has to do with vaccine; also you are to mobilize the regional cooperation from other countries in Africa because it was purely affecting the African continent.

This coming up is not anything strange and also it is highlighted we have Ebola in 2014.

May the Lord forbid, we have to prepare for any unseen pandemic that will come our way.
Thank you very much Mr Minister, for bringing this Treaty.

Thank you very much for your cooperation, may Lord bless us all.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Leader of Government Business.

Mr Minister, you may now briefly answer these questions and concerns expressed and them end by moving the Motion.
Dr. AUSTIN DEMBY [Minister of Health and Sanitation]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, as I said this is my first encounter with Parliament, my first official presentation of a Treaty and actually having a conversation.

I am really very pleased to see the very active and lively discussions that are going on from both sides of the aisle; I strongly believe that is the kind of dialogues that get us the kind of products that we want going forward.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, there was some conflation of the issues between the actual document we have in front of us and broader health issues.

I am not known to shy away from some of these issues, as they say I am the mirror of myself, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation is not the mirror of itself is what you see from what you say that we will react to.
And I want to make a comment that we are very listening Ministry, everything that you will say we will take to heart and make sure that we will turn it around into action that will be for our collective good.

From the multiple interventions we heard starting with the Honourable Paramount Chief Member, I want to thank you for your interventions and we want to assure you that we have heard you very clearly.
There are lots of issues that you raised for example, it is outside of the remit of the 72 Treaty itself but the issues around sending people oversees for medical treatment and how do we build internal capabilities around that we are actively working on that, we are actually creating a new centre in Kerry Town that you all would be proud of that has multiple diagnostic capabilities and treatment capabilities that we all will be proud of.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, again coming back to what we are talking about the Treaty, it turns out that there are close to 55 medications that we all use commonly in Africa, in all of these medications anybody can manufacture them.

Why aren’t we manufacturing our own products here in our own country?
I think what this Treaty does is to create an opportunity and environment where we could work with each other and build the capabilities and the capacities to manufacture high quality products that would meet our needs.

We want Sierra Leone to be in the driving seat of that effort that is why this Treaty is important to us.

We are dealing with substandard drugs coming in and out of the country but Sierra Leone is not unique in that drive.
A lot of other countries in the region are suffering from the same problems and if we try to solve it alone it is going to be a very difficult course.

If we have a coordinated effort across all over Africa where we see substandard drugs, we hold each other accountable we will take actions in the individual countries that would be responsive to collective continental effort.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, one of your colleagues, Honourable Abdul Karim Kamara I heard him raised issues around the possibility of expanding the training of medical officers, we are actively thinking about that, but getting the regulations around I don’t think we should really be bashing out our health care system in this country.
There are some aspects of it that are not working, there are some aspects of it that are extremely working well, what we need to do is to look at those that are working well and see how we can expand them.

The Honourable Member from Kono, I was there in Kono some few weeks ago where they are building 166 bed rooms hospital that we would be state of the earth for the whole continent to look at how you deal with maternal mortality and infant mortality in this country.
Sierra Leone is the hub; we 73 would be linking to Harvard University and University of Rwanda out of Kono.

Two days I went to the psychiatrist hospital, you should go to Kissy right now and see what is happening.

So all these goods things are happening and let us take those good things and see how we could expand them.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, again with the regulatory authority what it does is to help us link with each other, and help us support each other across the continent.
Why are we determining what kinds of vaccines we use here in Sierra Leone or in Guinea or in Nigeria determined by somebody else who is in Europe or in America?

I think it is about time that Africans stand on its own.

What we want to do is to build the capabilities here because we want to know what is in that vaccine, we want to know if it is amiable in Sierra Leone.

THE SPEAKER: You may continue Mr Minister.


Suspension of S.O [5]2 DOCTOR AUSTIN DEMBY [Minister of Health and Sanitation]: I would like to conclude by saying this is a Treaty that would actually support everything that you have been talking about.
The deficiencies in our country that we could help to fix but we should not try to do it alone, let us do continent wide, let us coordinate cross countries, let us learn from each other, let us use the resources that we have in our continent to support our efforts, even the issues of traditional medicines, we are not going to expect Europe or America to help us look at the context of traditional medicine, we have to take the lead and bring people together around this important concept.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I want to assure this House that if this Treaty is ratified we will have the opportunity for not only be able to improve the landscape here in our country, but also create a real opportunity for Sierra Leone leadership in this effort.

When we are in the driver seat of building the management structure, organisational structure, and the leadership structure it is nice for Sierra Leone to be at the ground floor to build this institution together.
74 So, having said that Mr Speaker, Honourable Members; be it resolved that this Honourable House the Treaty for the establishment of West African Medicine Agency dated 11th, February 2019.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Minister.

[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Government Motion by the Minister of Health and Sanitation has been ratified] THE SPEAKER: Mr Minister, you are excuse.

Thank you.
Thank you.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COORPERATION MADAM MAMADI GOBEH KAMARA [The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, be it resolved that this Honourable House hereby ratifies the following Agreement which was laid on the Table of this House on Thursday the 4th March 2021 Convention A/P.1/7/92 on mutual assistance in criminal matters.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the ECOWAS Convention A/P.1/7/92 on mutual assistance in criminal matters is a non-controversial Statuary Instrument that Sierra Leone and other ECOAWS member States acceded to on 29th July, 1992.

ECOWAS has already adopted this Convention as the working document; this Statuary document does not undermine any of our national laws.

In fact it complements them by effectively working beyond our jurisdiction in addressing criminal matters.
The ratification of the Instrument has no recourse to the national budget, our security apparatus and legal frame work will continue to operate seamlessly.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, over the years about nine ECOWAS member States have ratified this Convention including; Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, The Gambia, to name but a few.
In pursuit of our human right aspiration, the need for greater regional collaboration with countries with whom we have closed bilateral ties, it behoves us to ratify this Convention and joins others in the sub region and the rest of the World in the fight against trans-border crimes.

Let me assure you that this is not new, you may 75 agree with me that most regions in the world have similar path.
The council of Europe has the European Convention of mutual assistance in criminal matters, Australia has mutual assistance in criminal matters Act 1987 and there is an Inter-America Convention on criminal matters etc.

In this regard, the ECOWAS Convention is well situated to achieve integration in all fields of activities of member States by adopting a common rule in the field of mutual assistance in criminal matters.
This Convention provides the require platform to achieve deep collaboration by implementing a unified vision with the scope of mutual assistance in criminal matters serving as an effective way of dealing with the complex aspect and serious consequences of criminality in all its forms and new dimensions.

Member States therefore undertake to accord each other the widest measures of mutual assistance in proceedings or investigations in respect of offences.
The punishment for which at the time of the request falls within the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of the requesting member States Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the Convention reaffirms our mutual commitment to member States; it also strengthens our bonds of friendships and cooperation in creating a unified frontier to ensure mutual safety in this complex day and age.

I must assert that this is one of the most relevant legal instruments to combat trafficking in persons in the sub-region.
By ratifying and domesticating this Convention, Sierra Leone proactively joins the regional campaign and efforts to improve our legal outreach.

We also stand to benefit in our draft to curb international criminality especially in the trafficking and smuggling of persons particularly women and children.

You may agree with me that criminals definitely require transiting points within the sub-region before getting to their final destinations.
For this compelling reason, it is important to enhance regional and international cooperation in the struggle against human trafficking.

Trafficking in persons requires a comprehensive international approach in the country of origin, transit and destination to protect victims.
Sierra Leone always recognised important legal cooperation and other forms of cooperation we believe that the investigation and prevention of crimes for the protections of the citizenry and the maintenance of peace and public order constitute the essential objectives in every 76 organised society and that the fight to achieve these objectives cannot be restricted to national borders Since it is evidence that transnational organises crime by its very definition transcend borders.
These crimes committed do not only affect individual countries but also the international communities in general.

Thank you very much for your attention Mr Speaker and Honourable Members of Parliament.

THE SPEAKER: Can you please move now?


MADAM MAMADI GOBEH KAMARA [Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, be it resolved that this Honourable House hereby ratifies the following Agreement which was laid on the Table of this House on Thursday the 4th March 2021 Convention A/P.1/7/92 on mutual assistance in criminal matters.

Thank you.

THE SPEAKER: I thank the Honourable Minister.


Before I put the question Honourable Members, I really want to thank the Honourable Minister for bringing this Convention to the House.

I am amazed, this is one of the last things among the last things I did in ECOWAS before I left in 1993, as you can see is dated 1992 that was when we crafted this Convention and have the Heads of State to sign up to it.

Is only now that Sierra Leone is ratifying it I am amazed, I am amazed.

You talk about 28 years.


So, before I put the question may be Madam Minister please get your officials to dig more into the archive for all you know there may be more similar Conventions gathering dust on the shelves of your Ministry so that you can please dust them and bring them forward for ratification.

HON.

P.C BAI KURR KANAGBARO SANKA III: Mr Speaker, we have even documents from 1961 and 1962 that is never brought here.

I said it just now we have all these Conventions not approved by Sierra Leone.
So, if you want to take me as a Consultant, I will dig them all for you.

Sir, I have to sign a contract nothing goes for free, now I am having my Chairman asking me.

THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, the question is the Agreement that was laid on the Table of the House on Thursday, the 4th of March, 2021, namely the ECOWAS 77 Convention on the mutual assistant in criminal matters.
I think this is really noncontroversial and I will therefore invite both the Acting Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of Government Business to say a word or two about it.

So over to you please.

[Question Proposed] HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: Mr Speaker, thank you very much.

I am borrowing from your words as you have said this Treaty is noncontroversial.
But having a Treaty of this nature that has not been ratified in this House for quite a long time definitely speaks to the attitude of the people in the Foreign Service or in the respective MDAs.

This is not the only document that has been gathering dust in the shelves of the Ministry and not only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but other Ministries as well.
If we have documents of this nature which are noncontroversial that can benefit this country that have not been brought to this House for ratification definitely we would ask that other Ministers follow sooth.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, we want to thank the Minister for bringing such a document to this House.

This Treaty is noncontroversial because we all aware of what happens when it comes to the issue of international crime and when these things happen they affect our people we represent here.
Those people we represent here are the most affected people with the international crime because we know that there is an international organisation for migration which is also helping to repatriate people in other countries that have been exploited.
All of these things will help increase the quality of our human resource base because some people who might go out in search of greener pasture are being exploited just because they believed that there is something better there for them than they have here but if we have Convention of this nature which we all can benefit from, I think we have no reason to stop this Treaty to be ratified because it is noncontroversial and it is Convention that would help to reduce international crime across borders.
We will definitely give our support to it and will ask that this House ratify this Convention so that we would also become part of the international network that is supposed to be preventing these crimes across borders.
78 Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, of course, like the Minister said; “we cannot address these issues by ourselves but we need collaboration and coordination with countries outside of this nation, outside our borders to make sure that we achieve this with collective effort.” Mr Speaker, I think we will give our consent to this Convention to be ratified so that we all be part of the fight against international crime.

Thank you very much.

THE SPEAKER: Thank you very much Honourable Member.
The Leader of Government Business over to you.

HON.

MATHEW S. NYUMA: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, thank you very much, Honourable Hassan Sesay.

It is good for us to know one or two things from the Convention; it has to do with cooperation since it has to do with criminal matters.

So, in some of the Articles we need to have level of cooperation where at times in this Conventions we also have level of refusals it is not because we are cooperating we can just give away.
So, in the first place there is what we call dual criminality in this whole Convention, but first Mr Speaker, is good you were one of the brains behind the formation of this Convention.

So, let me bring our Members to speed that consideration to achieve integration in all fields of activities of each Member State, mutual assistance in criminal matters will contribute to the aims of foreign development integration.
It has to do with the respect for humanity because on criminal matter there must be criminal proceedings, the way you pass through so that you can be transferred to a member States.

But how do you do your application in terms of criminal assistance and investigation?

It has to be in written, is very clear but what is very interesting I will like to mention because we are Politicians, I will leave this one deliberately on the grounds of refusal it is very important.
If it is going to be on politics, is going to be on race, is going to be on religion, member States can refuse to cooperate.

Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Article 4b said; the offence is regarded by the request that is in terms of refusal, the offence is regarded by the request of the member States as being of a political nature.
So, if it is political nature is not going to be accepted, they will refuse it and the one that is very interesting not because I have 79 ratified this Convention automatically, I will have to cooperate or transfer any individual in terms of criminal matters it has to be first like what we have done for the Treaty.

First, it has to be law in your own country and the requested Member State has to be part of the law, you have to have the requisite Legislation in your own Member State.
Mr Speaker is very clear so don’t just request because you want to request.

The other one that has to do with victim’s rights, if you have to transfer a case from one member State to other, the victim’s right has to do with restitution and dignity must be maintained that is why we talk about the dignity for human rights.
Mr Speaker, as you said we have to maintain confidentiality of this Convention, if I share information with member States that has to be confidential and that is why the Member State will refuse to cooperate.

So, is not a controversial issue at all, but we need to take note of some of these things and it has to do with politics, race and other issues, refusal will come in.
Honourable Members, I think this Treaty is noncontroversial and I believe we ratify this Convention for the good of Sierra Leone and for the hard work of Mr Speaker, who was the Executive Secretary at the time.

Thank you very much and may God bless us all.

THE SPEAKER: Madam Minister, can you please move again?

MADAM MAMADI GOBEH KAMARA [The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation]: Thank you very much Mr Speaker.
Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, be it resolved that this Honourable House hereby ratifies the following Agreement which was laid on the Table of this House on Thursday the 4th of March 2021 Convention A/p.1/7/92 on mutual assistance in criminal matters.

THE SPEAKER: Thank you Madam Minister.


Honourable Members, the question is that this Honourable House ratifies the following Agreement that was laid on the Table of the House on Thursday 4th, March, 2021; namely the Convention of ECOWAS A/p.1/7/92 on mutual assistance in criminal matters.
[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] 80 [Government Motion by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has been ratified] BILL THE CYBERCRIME ACT 2020 THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION THE HOUSE RESOLVED ITSELF INTO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE HONOURABLE ABDUL MARIO S. CONTEH REPORT ON THE BILL TITLE THE CYBERCRIME ACT 2020 THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Members, I share the sentiment expressed, I am in the same category and I must confess, I am not only tired but I am not 100% health wise.
So what we do, I will allow the Chairman, to take us through this report very quickly and we take an adjournment, we would not go into it.

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: Thank you very much Mr Chairman 6th Report of the Legislative Committee 3rd Session of the Fifth Parliament of the 2nd Republic of Sierra Leone on the Bill entitled, the Cyber Crime Act 2020, presented to Parliament on Thursday 20th May 2020.
THE CHAIRMAN: If you want him to be quick, please don’t interrupt him let him just read through you will have plenty of time when we resume getting into the nitty gritty.

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: 6th Report of the Legislative Committee 3rd Session of the 5th Parliament of the 2nd Republic of Sierra Leone on the Bill entitled; the Cyber Crime Act 2020, presented to Parliament on Thursday 20th May 2021.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I rise to present the 6th Report of the Legislative Committee 3rd Session of the 5th Parliament of the 2nd Republic of Sierra Leone on the Bill entitled the Cyber Crime Act 2020, been an Act to provide for the prevention of the abusive use of computer systems, to provide for the timely and effective collection of electronic evidence for the purpose of investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes, to provide for the protection of critical national information infrastructure, to provide for 81 the facilitation of international cooperation in dealing with cybercrime matters and to provide for other related matters.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Bill having gone through the 2nd Reading was Committed to the Legislative Committee for scrutiny pursuant to Standing Order [51]1 subsequently the Committee met on Wednesday 5th May, 2021 at the Golden Tulip, Kimbima Hotel, Freetown, with the following objectives; to scrutinise in details the principles and provisions of the Bill and to make amendment if necessary, to ascertain the constitutional and legal implications contain therein and to report to plenary for consideration by the Committee of the whole House.
Mr Chairman Honourable Members, in attendance were Members of the Legislative Committee, other interested Members of Parliament, officials of the Ministry of Information and Communication, representatives of the Bar Association, representatives of the Sierra Leone Association of journalists, representatives of the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers, representatives of Sierra Leoneans in Information Technology, representatives from Civil Society organisations and other members of the public.
Recommendation[s] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Legislative Committee having scrutinised the bill line by line and clause by clause recommends the following amendments to the House for approval.
The short title of the Bill, be amended to read the Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021, the long title of the Bill, be amended to read been an Act to provide effective unified and comprehensive, legal regulatory and institutional frame work for the prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of cybercrimes.
Prevention of the abusive use of computer systems to provide for the establishment or structure to promote cyber security and capacity building, to provide for the timely and effective collection of electronic evidence for the purpose of investigation and prosecution of cybercrime, to provide for the protection of critical national information infrastructure and measures, to protect critical information infrastructure and promote cyber security and the protection of computer systems and networks the electronic communication data and computer programmes intellectual 82 property and privacy rights to provide for facilitation of international cooperation in dealing with cybercrime matters and to provide for other related matters.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, part [1] preliminary, the Committee had a unanimous decision by the following definition be included in part 1 preliminary clause [1] interpretation Attorney General be defined to mean the Attorney General and Minister of Justice established under the Constitution be inserted above the definition of computer data, that the word cyber stocking be defined to mean a cause of conduct directed at a specific persons or person that will cause a reasonable person to feel fear, that the word cybersquatting defined to mean the acquisition of the main name over the internet in bad fate to profit, mislead destroy repetition and deprive others from registering the same if such a domain is; 1.
Similar, identical or confusingly similar to an existing trade mark registered with the appropriate Government Agency at the time of the domain registration.

2. identical or in any way similar with the name of a person other than the registrant in case of a personal name and 3.

Acquire without right or with intellectual property interest in it.
4. that the word data be defined to mean representation of information or of concept that have been prepared or have been prepared in the form suitable for use in the computer, that the word data base be defined to mean digitally organised collection of data for one or more purposes which allows easy access management and update of data, that the word device be defined to mean any object or equipment that has been designed to do a particular job or whose mechanical electrical control or monitor by a microprocessor, 7.
That the phrase electronic communication be defined to mean includes communication in electronics format instant messages short message service [sms], email, video, voice mails multimedia message service [mms] fax and pager, 8.

That the phrase enforcement officer be defined to mean an officer in the Law Enforcement Agency trained in cyber security work designated or authorised to carry out functions including for the purposes of part 3 of this Act.
That the word extradite 83 be defined to mean the legal obligation of State under public international law to handle the person who commits serious international crimes to a Foreign State for indictment, prosecution or imprisonment where no other State has requested extradition, that the phrase false news be defined to mean incorrect deceptive information or propaganda, misinformation or hopes deliberately spread under the guise of authentic news media print or broadcast news media or online social media written and intend to mislead, that the phrase financial institution be defined to mean any individual, body, association or group of persons whether cooperate or in cooperated which carries on the business or investment and securities a discount house finance company and money brokerage whose principal objects includes factoring projects, financing, equipment listing, debt administration, fund management, private lager services, investment management, local purchase order financing, export finance, project consultancy, financial consultancy, pension fund management, insurance institutions, debt factorisation and converging funds, dealer, clearing and settlement companies, legal practitioners, hotels, casinos, below the chain, super markets and such other businesses as the centre bank or appropriate regulatory authorities made from time to time designate.
That the phrase financial transaction be defined to mean a transaction which in any way involves movement of funds by wire or other electronics means involving one or more monitoring instruments or the transfer of title to any rare or personal property, that the word function be defined to mean logic, control, arithmetic, deletion, storage, retrieval and communication or telecommunication to or from or within the computer, that the word Law Enforcement Agency be defined to mean any agency for the time been responsible for implementation and enforcement of the provision of this Act, that the word modification be defined to mean in relation to a computer system programme or data the alteration or modification with respect to the content of a computer system by the operation of a function in the computer system or any other computer if a programme or data held in a computer system is altered or erase.
84 [b].
A programme or data is added to its content or an Act occurs which impairs the normal operation of a computer system and any act which contribute towards causing such alteration or modification shall be deemed to have caused it, that the word password be defined to mean any data by which a computer service or computer system is capable of been obtain or use, that the word fishing be defined mean the criminal and fraudulent process of acquiring or attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, password and credit cards details by masquerading as an authentic identity in electronic communication through emails or telephone text message asking user to change his or her password or reveal his or her identity so that such information can later be used to defraud the user, that the phrase plain text be defined to mean original data before it has been transformed into an unintelligible format, that the word phonography be defined to mean enclose the representation in books, magazines, photographs, phones and other media telecommunication apparatus of scene of sexual behaviour that are erotic or lude and are designed to arise sexual interest, that the word premises be defined to mean includes land, buildings, movable structures a physical or virtual space in which data is maintain manage backed up remotely are made available to users over a network to vehicles, vessels or aircrafts.
That the word President be defined to mean the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone as established by the Constitution, that the phrase service provider be defined to mean a public or private entity that provides to users services including the means to communicate by use of a computer system including and any other entity that processes or source computer data on behalf of that entity or it users, that the phrase subscriber information be defined means any information contained in the form of data or any form that is held by a service provider relating to subscriber of its services other than traffic data or content data by which can be established A, the type of communication service used, the technical provision taking there to and the period of service.
The subscriber’s identity, postal, geographical, electronic mail address telephone and other access number billing and payment information available on the basis of the service agreement or arrangement or any other information on the site 85 of an installation of communication equipment available on the basis of the service agreement or arrangement, that the phrase requested State be defined to mean a State been requested legal assistance under the terms of this Act, that the phrase requesting State be defined to mean a State requesting for legal assistance and may for the purposes of this Act includes an international entity to which Sierra Leone is obligated, that the word seize with respect to a programme or data be defined to include secure a computer system or part of it or a device, make and retain a digital email or secure a copy of any programme or data including using an onsite equipment render the computer system in accessible remove data in the access computer system or obtain output of data from a computer system, that the phrase sexually explosive conduct includes at least the followings; real or stimulated act done with intent to exploit a child, sexual intercourse including genital, genital oral genital, inner genital or oral inner involving a child or between an adult and a child of the same or opposite sex, discharge lilies, masturbation, sadistic abuse in a sexual context or lascivious exhibition of genital or the pubic area of a child, it is not relevant whether the conduct evicted is real or simulated, that the word spamming be defined to mean an abuse of electronic messaging system to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages to individuals and cooperate organisations, that the word traffic be defined to mean to sell, transfer, distribute dispense or otherwise dispose of property or to buy, receive, posses, obtain, control of or use property with the intent to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense or otherwise dispose of such property and note the proviso to be amended to replace the word, THIS, with the word AFTER, the word under to now read provided that any act or access in exercise or power under this Act shall not be deemed unauthorised.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, part [2] critical national information infrastructure be amended to become part [3] and part 6 becomes the new part [2].

The new part [2] previously part [6] administration and enforcement be amended as follows; part heading, administration and enforcement can be amended to read the administration and coordination.
The new side note of clause [2] previously side clause [47] be 86 amended by deleting the phrase coordination and enforcement and replacing it with establishment of the national cyber security incidence response coordination centre, clause [2] previously clause [47] sub-clause [1] establishment of the national cyber security incidence report coordination centre be amended by adding the phrase appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister subject to the approval of Parliament after the word coordination and deleting the phrase nominated by the Minister to now read, there shall be a national Cyber Security Incidence Response Coordination Centre responsible for managing Cyber Security Incidence in Sierra Leone headed by the National Cyber Security Coordinator appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister subject to the approval of Parliament.
Clause three [3] previously sub clause [2] of clause [47] be amended by replacing the word COORDINATOR with the phrase COORDINATION CENTRE immediately after the word SECURITY and before the word SHALL to now read, the National Cyber Security Coordination Centre shall be responsible for cyber security issues under this Act including with a new side note to read functions and powers of the centre.
Clause [4] previously clause [48] establishment of the national Cyber Security fund be amended by deleting the word President and replacing it with the phrase Vice President, and by deleting the phrase Minister responsible for Internal Affairs after the word President to now read, there is established a national Cyber Security at District Council comprising the Vice President as Chairman and the following other members.
Clause [4] 1L previously clause [48] [1L] be amended by replacing the Director of Communications Ministry of Information and Communication with the Director Financial Intelligence Unit, and adding a new [N] to read a respected and distinguished Barrister and Solicitor of over fifteen years post enrolment at the Bar nominated by SLBA appointed by the President with the national Cyber Security coordinator serving as Secretary to the Council.
Clause [4] previously clause [48] sub clause [2b] be amended by deleting sub clause [2b] and replacing it with the member listed in paragraph [N] of clause [4]1 Shall seize to hold office only for State and misconduct of infirmity of body or mind for a term of 87 five years which said term shall where the President deems fit be renewed for a further term of five years without any further renewal, previously clause [48] sub clause [3] be deleted.
Clause [4] sub clause [3] previously clause [48] sub clause [4] be amended by replacing the word PRESIDENT after the word THE, and before the word and with Vice President.

Clause [5] previously [49] functions and powers of the Council be approved.

Clause [6] previously [50] sub clause [2a] be deleted, part 2 Critical National Information Infrastructure to be amended to become part [3].
Clause [7] previously [2] sub clause [1] designation of critical national information infrastructure be amended by replacing President with the word MINISTER after the word THE and the word MAY replace the word SHALL after the word PRESIDENT and replacing the phrase on the recommendation of with the phrase in consultation with before the word MINISTER, and Minister of Information and Communication replaced with the National Cyber Security at District Council, and the word recommend to the President who may by order inserting immediately after the National Cyber Security at District Council to now read.
The Minister shall in consultation with the National Cyber Council recommend to the President who may by order published in the gazette designate certain computer systems, computer data or traffic data vital to Sierra Leone, or any combination of those matters as constituting Critical National Information Infrastructure.
Clause [7] previously [2] sub clause [2] be amended by inserting immediately after B the clause the implementation of the critical information systems to ensure all systems are secured by default, and system and user activities are logged to facilitate the accurate and efficient information system operation audit which becomes the new C and the clause respect [4] and the protection of the fundamental freedom including the right to privacy be inserted immediately after G to become the new [I].
88 A Presidential order made under sub Section [1] shall prescribe minimum standards, guidelines, rules or procedures reasonably required in respect or C the implementation of critical information systems, to ensure all systems are secured by default, and system and user activities logged to facilitate accurate and efficient information system operations audit.

[i] Respect for protection of the fundamental freedom including the right to privacy.
Clause [8] previously clause [3] Audit and inspection of critical national informational infrastructure be amended by replacing 47 with [2] after the word section to now read, a President shall order made under sub section [1] of section [2] may require the national computer security incidence response team established by the coordinating body previously clause 47 sub clause [2c] to audit and inspect any critical national information infrastructure at any time to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act.
Part three [3] powers and procedures now part [4], clause [9] sub clause [2] previously clause [4] sub clause [2] scope of powers and procedure be amended by inserting provided that the evidence has been properly obtained and preserved immediately after the word ADMITTED to now read in a trial of an offence under law the fact that evidence has been generated, transmitted or seized from or identify in a search of a computer system shall not itself prevent that evidence from being presented relied upon, or admitted provided that the evidence has been probably obtained and preserved, and a new sub clause be inserted immediate after sub clause [2] to become sub clause [3].
To read the powers and procedures provided under this part and without prejudice to the operation or, or powers granted under the criminal procedure Act when exercise lawfully by any other law enforcement agency, or services or any regulatory authority that by itself does not investigate or prosecute an offence.
Clause [10] sub clause [1] previously clause [5] sub clause [1] search and seizure of stored computer data be amended by replacing Police Officer with enforcement officer, and inserting specifying the bases of the belief and the scope of the warrant required immediately after the word MATERIAL.

89 Clause [10] sub clause [2] previously clause [5] sub clause [2] be amended by replacing Police Officer with enforcement officer and inserting before [a] this new clause.
Enter and search any premises or place if within those premises place of conveyance.

1.

An offence under this Act is being committed 2.

Or is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act or 3.

There is an urgent need to prevent the commission of an offence under this Act, search any person or conveyance found on any premises, or place with such authorised officers who are authorise to enter and search under paragraph [a] of sub Section [1].
Stop board and search any conveyance where there is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act which now becomes a, b, and c, respectively and the new clause require any person having charged of, or otherwise concern with the operation of any computer or electronic device in connection with an offence under this Act to produce such a computer or electronic device and inserted immediately after [h] to become the new [i], [f] is amended by deleting code or technology which has the capability of unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to a computer system into an intelligible format for the purposes of the warrant and replacing with have access to any information obtained from the encrypted data contained or available to a computer system into an intelligible format for the purposes of the warrant which now become the new [i] to read a warrant issue under sub Section [1] shall authorise an enforcement an enforcement officer or other authorise person to: (a) Enter and search any premises or place if within those premises place of conveyance on offence under this Act is being committed or there is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act, or there is an urgent need to prevent the commission of an offence under this Act.
(b) Search any person or conveyance found on any premises or place which such authorised officers who are empowered to enter and search under paragraph [a] of sub Section [1], stop board and search any conveyance where there is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act.

90 (c) Have access to any information obtained from the encrypted data contained or available to a computer system into an intelligible format for the purposes of the warrant.
(d) Require any person having charged or otherwise concern with the operation of any computer or electric device in connection with an offence under this Act to produce such computer or electric device.

A new sub clause, sub clause [4] be inserted immediately after sub clause [3] to read the Court may issue a warrant under sub Section [2] of this section where it is satisfied that.
[a] The warrant is sought to prevent the commission of an offence under this Act, or to prevent the interference with investigative process under this Act or [b] The warrant is for the purpose of investigating cybercrime, cyber security bridge, computer related offences or obtaining electronic evidence or [c] There are reasons for believing that the person or material on the premises or conveyance may be relevant to the cybercrime or computer related offences under investigation or [d] There are reasons to believe that the person name in the warrant is preparing to commit an offence under this Act, provided that any such warrant is issued access shall be without prejudice to the right to privacy of persons and may be resided upon an application by a person affected to a judge of the High Court.
Sub clause [5] previously sub clause [4] be amended by replacing the phrase a Police Officer with an enforcement officer after the word WERE at the beginning of the sentence.

The phrase under sub Section [2] after the word IT to be deleted and the word another after the word IN to be replaced with [a] immediately before cloud and the word other after the word search be replaced with cloud computer before the word system.
To read where an enforcement officer or other authorised person authorised to search or access a specific computer system or part of it has reasonable grounds to believe 91 that the data sought is stored in a cloud computer system, and there is reasonable grounds to believe that such data is accessible or available to the initial system the enforcement officer or other authorised person may extend the search or accessing to such cloud computer system or systems.
Sub clause [7] previously sub clause [6] is amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, and the phrase SEIZE or before the word SECURE be deleted in [a].
To read an enforcement officer or other authorised person shall [1] not practical to secure the computer data, or Sub clause [8] previously sub clause [7] be amended by replacing a Police Officer with the enforcement officer and replacing to such fine or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribed after the word CONVICTION with to a fine not less than LE10Mln and not more than LE50Ml or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not more than five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
To read an enforcement officer or authorised person who intentionally, recklessly, or negligently misuses the powers granted under this Section commits an offence and is liable to conviction to a fine not less than LE10Mln and not more than LE50Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year, and not more than five years, or to both such fines and imprisonment.
Sub clause [9] previously sub clause [8] be amended by inserting wilfully before the word obstruct replacing Police Officer with enforcement officer, and replacing to such fine and term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act describe with to a fine not less than LE5Mln and not more than LE30Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months, and not more than three years or to both such fine and imprisonment, and the case of cooperation partnership or association to a fine not less than LE50Mln and not more than LE100Mln after the word CONVICTION.
92 To read a person who wilfully obstruct an enforcement officer or other authorised persons in the lawful exercise of the powers under this Section commits an offence and is liable to conviction to a fine not less than LE5Mln and not more than LE30Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not more than three years or to both such fine and imprisonment, and the case of a corporation, partnership or association to a fine not less than LE50Mln and not more than LE100Mln.
Clause [11] sub clause [2] previously clause [6] sub clause [2] record of access to seize data be amended by replacing a Police Officer, with an enforcement officer and inserting the word LAWFULLY after the word ACTING in [C] to read subject to sub section [3] an enforcement officer or authorised person shall or request permit a person [C] acting lawfully on behalf of under sub paragraph A or B.
Clause [11] sub clause [3] previously sub clause [6] sub clause [3] be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read; an enforcement officer or other authorised person may refuse to give access or provide copies seize under sub section [2] if he has reasonable ground to believe that giving access or providing copies would.
Clause [11] sub clause [4] previously clause [6] sub clause [4] be amended by replacing A or B with A, B or C after the word SUB PARAGRAPH to read; not withstanding sub Section [3] a judge of the High Court may upon sufficient and reasonable grounds allow a person under sub paragraph A, B, or C to access or copy computer data.
A new sub clause [5] be inserted to read the national computer security incidence response team shall develop standards, policies, procedures and guide lines to be used in the implementation of this Act subject to the approval of the National Cyber Security At District Council in respect of: [a] The warrant request process [b] The process of collecting and handling evidence [c] Chain of custody of evidence collected [d] Processes related to devise collection 93 [e] Processes related to email collection [f] The storage and inventory of data or evidence collected [g] The process of examining evidence [h] Analysis of data and evidence collected, and [i] evidence reporting.
Clause [12] sub clause [1] previously clause [7] sub clause [1] production order be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read where it is necessary to or desirable for the purposes of an investigation a judge of the High Court may upon an application by an enforcement officer or other authorised person order.
Clause [12 sub clause [4] previously clause [7] sub clause [4] be amended by replacing to such fine or term of imprisonment as the Minister made by regulation made under this Act prescribe with to a fine not less than LE5Mln and not more than LE30Mnl or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months, and not more than three years and to both such fine and imprisonment and for a corporation not less than LE100Mln and not more than LE250Mln after the word CONVICTION.
To read; a person who fails to comply with an order under sub Section [1] commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not less than LE5Mln and not more than LE30Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than six month and not more than three years, or to both such fine an imprisonment and for corporation not less than LE100Mln, and not more than LE250Mln.
Clause [12] previously clause [5] previously clause [7] sub clause [5] be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, and replacing to such fine or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe with to a fine not less than LE10Mln and not more than LE50Mln to a term of imprisonment not less than one year, and not more than five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
To read; an enforcement officer or authorised persons who use the powers granted under sub section [1] for a purpose other than stated in Section [6] commit an offence and is liable on conviction and is liable to a fine not less than LE 94 10Mln and not more than LE50Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year, and not more than five years or to both such fines and imprisonment.
A new sub clause [7] be inserted immediately after sub clause [6] to read; notwithstanding the provision of sub Section [1] above a service provider or a person in possession or control of relevant specified data shall have the right to apply to the Judge of the High Court to challenge the issuance of a production order issued under this section on the ground of relevance, privilege, capacity to implement provisions of the order, or otherwise protected from disclosure by law, or non-satisfaction of the requirement in sub Section [6] of this Act.
Clause [13] sub clause [1] previously clause [8] sub clause [1] expedited prevention and partial disclosure of traffic data, be amended by replacing Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read an enforcement officer or other authorise may where he satisfy that.
Clause [13] sub clause [3] previously clause [8] sub clause [3] be amended by replacing the phrase not exceed ninety days with before a period not exceeding thirty days after the word SHALL, to read the period of preservation of data required under sub Section [1] shall be for a period not exceeding thirty days.
Clause [13] sub clause [5a] [1] previously clause [8] sub clause [5a] [1] be amended by replacing 90 with 30 after the word exceeding to read; [1] a period not exceeding thirty days as specified in sub Section [3], or clause [14] sub clause [1] previously clause [9] sub clause [1] real time collection of data, interception of content data be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read; where there are reasonable ground to believe that traffic data associated with specified communication is reasonably required for the purpose of a specific criminal investigation a Judge of the High Court may on an application by an enforcement officer, or authorise person order for service provider with the capacity to monitor, collect and record to.
95 Clause [14] sub clause [1b] previously clause [9] sub clause [1b] be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read; provide specified traffic data to enforcement officer or authorised person.
Clause [14] sub clause [2] previously clause [9] sub clause [2] be amended by deleting the word not before the word event, and inserting the word not before the word for and replacing 90 with 30 before the word than, to read; an order for the real time collection, or recording of traffic data under sub section [1] shall not be for a period beyond what is absolutely necessary, and in any event for not more than thirty days.
Clause [14] sub clause [3] previously sub clause [9] sub clause [3] be amended by inserting the same to be for an additional period, or not more than thirty days immediately after the word TIME, and replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer, to read; a period of real time collection or recording of traffic data under sub section [2] may be extended by a Judge of the High Court, for a further reasonable specified period of time and the same to be for an additional period of thirty days on an application by an enforcement officer, or other authorised person where the extension is reasonably required for the purposes of.
Clause [14] sub clause [6] previously clause [9] sub clause [6] be amended by replacing to such fine or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe with a fine not less than LE50Mln and not more than LE 250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not more than five years, or to both such fine and imprisonment after the word CONVICTION.
To read; a service provider who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with an order under sub section [1] commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a fine not less than LE 50Mln and not more than LE250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year, and not more than five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Clause [15] sub clause [1] previously clause [10] sub clause [1] confidentiality and lamination of liability be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer.
To read; where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the content specifically identify electronic communication is reasonably required for the purpose of a 96 specific investigation in respect of a felonious offence a Judge of the High Court may on an application, by an enforcement or other authorise person other the service provider to.
Clause [15] sub clause [2] previously sub clause [2] be amended by inserting what is absolutely necessary, and in any event not more than after the word beyond and replacing ninety days with thirty days.

To read; an order for the real time collection, or recording of content data under sub Section [1] shall not be for a period beyond what is absolutely necessary, and in any event not more than thirty days.
Clause [15] sub clause [3c] previously clause [10] sub clause [3e] be amended by inserting be guided by regulations made pursuant to this Act which shall before the word ENSURE.

To read; measures taking shall be guided by regulation made pursuant to this Act which shall ensure that the real time collection, or recording is carried out whilst maintain the privacy of other users, customers and third parties without the disclosure information, and data of any party not party of the investigation.
A new clause [h] is inserted immediately after [g] to read adequate provision is made to ensure the safe storage of, and protection of the content data obtained and be used solely for matters relating to investigation.

Clause [15] sub clause [4] previously clause [10] sub clause [4] be amended by inserting the same to be for an additional period not more than thirty days, immediately after the word time, and replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer.
To read; a period of real time collection, or recording of content data under sub Section [3] may be extended by a Judge of the High Court for a further reasonable specified period time the same to be for an additional period not more than thirty days, on an application by an enforcement officer, or authorised person where the extension is reasonably required for the purpose of.
A new sub clause [6] be inserted to read the service provider shall have express right to challenge an order regarding the collection of real time content data where is noncompliance with the provisions of the Act by filling an application to a Judge of the High Court.
97 Clause [15] sub clause [7] previously clause [10] sub clause [6b] be amended replacing to such fine term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulations made under this Act prescribe with to a crime not less than LE50Mln and not more than LE250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years or to both such fine and imprisonment after the word CONVICTION.
To read; a service provider who fails to comply with an order under sub Section [1] commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not less than LE50Mln and not more than LE250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Clause [16] sub clause [1] previously clause [11] sub clause [1] confidentiality and limitation of liability be amended by a writing in connection with its compliance, with its obligations immediately after the word liability.

To read; a service provider shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising in connection with his compliance, with its obligations unless it is established that the service provider.

Clause [17] previously clause [12] territorial jurisdiction be approved.
Clause [18] is a new clause to be inserted immediately after clause [17] previously clause [12].

To read subject to the powers of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice law enforcement agencies shall have power to prosecute offences under this Act, in the case of offences committed under Sections [24] and [26] of this Act the approval of the Attorney General must be obtained before prosecution.

Clause [18] side note to read, prosecution of extraditable offences, clause [19] is a new clause.
To read; [1] the Court in imposing sentence on any person convicted of an offence under this Act may order that the convicted person forfeit to the Republic of Sierra Leone.

[a] Any asset money or property whether tangible or intangible traceable to proceeds of such offence, and [b] any computer equipment, software, electronic device or any other device used or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission of such offence.
98 (1) Where it is established that a convicted person has assets or property in a foreign country acquired as a result of such criminal activities listed in this Act such assets or property shall subject to any Treaty, or arrangement with such Foreign country be forfeited to the Republic of Sierra Leone.

(2) The Attorney General and Minister of Justice shall ensure that the forfeited assets or property are effectively transferred and vested in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
(3) Any person convicted of an offence under this Act shall have his passport withheld and only returned to him after he has served the sentence or pay the fines imposed him.

Clause [19] side note to read forfeiture to the State Clause [20] is a new clause.
To read; in addition of any other penalty prescribed under this Act the Court may order a person convicted of an offence under this Act to make restitution to the victim of the false presence or fraud by directing that the person: (a) Where the property involve is money pay to the victim an amount equivalent (b) to the law sustain and any other case to [1] return the property to the victim or to a person designated by him or [2] pay an amount equal to the value to the property where the return of the property is impossible or impracticable.
(c) An order of restitution may be enforced by the victim, by the prosecutor on behalf of the victim in the same manner as judgement in a civil action.

Clause [20] side note to read restitution.

Part [4] international cooperation is amended to become part [5].
Clause [21] sub clause [1] previously clause [13] sub clause [1] spontaneous information be amended by inserting a provisory provided by such Foreign State shall have or undertake to effect mutual exchange of information with Sierra Leone in such manner as shall be agreed upon between the authorised personnel of such Foreign State and the Attorney General subject to the approval of Parliament immediately after sub clause [1b].
99 Clause [22] previously clause [14] powers of the Attorney General be approved.

Clause [23] previously clause [15] authority to make an Act on mutual assistant request be approved.

Clause [24] previously clause [16] extradition be approved.

Clause [25] previously clause [17] confidentiality and limitation of use be approved.

Clause [26] previously clause [18] expedited preservation of stored computer data be approved.
Clause [27] previously clause [19] expedition disclosure of preserved traffic data be amended by changing number 18 to 27 after the word SECTION and before the word WITH, to now read; where during the cause of executing a request on the Section [27] with respect to a specified communication it is discovered that a service provider in another State was involved in the transmission of the communication the Attorney General shall expeditiously disclose to the Foreign State sufficient amount of traffic data to identify that service provider and the part through which the communication was transmitted.
Clause [28] sub clause [1] previously clause [20] sub clause [1] be amended by replacing security with secure by replacing 18 with 27 after the word SECTION, now to read, a Foreign State may request the search access secure of disclosure of data stored by means of a computer system located within Sierra Leone including the data that has been preserved under Section [27]… THE CHAIRMAN: Just hold it there.

Can you refer me to the page where you are right now?

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: Page 19.


THE CHAIRMAN: Page 19, and what clauses do you have right now?

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: It is clause [28] sub clauses [2] which were previously clause [20].

So is the middle of the page.

THE CHAIRMAN: Can I see yours?

Is that part [5] offenses?

100 HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: It page 19 Mr Chairman.

THE CHAIRMAN: I am afraid I have been given the wrong copy.

My page is page 18.

Go ahead please.

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH: Thank you Mr Chairman.


Clause [28] sub clause [2] previously sub clause [2o] sub clause [2] be amended by inserting a new clause [M] after [L], to read; details be effect that warrant in regard the matter under investigation has already been obtained to extend the investigation overseas.

Clause [29] previously clause [21], trans boarder access to stored computer data be amended by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer.
Clause [29]b by replacing a Police Officer with an enforcement officer and a provisory been inserted to read; provided that any such that any such access shall be without prejudice to the right to privacy of persons and may be resided upon in application by a person affected to a Judge of the High Court inserted immediately after sub clause [b].

Clause [30] previously clause [22] mutual assistant in real time collection of traffic data be approved.
Clause [31] previously clause [23] mutual assistant regarding interception of content data be approved Clause [32] sub clause [1] previously clause [24] be amended by replacing Police Officer or other authorise person in investigating or prosecuting cybercrime with the national cyber security coordinator or his authorise representative to now read; the national cyber security coordinator or his authorise representative shall designate a point of contact available on a 24hours 7 days a week bases in other to ensure the provision of immediate assistant for the purpose of investigation or prosecution of offenses related to computer system and data or for the collection of evidence in electronics form.
Part [5] offenses be amended to become part [6], clause [3] sub clause [1] previously [25] sub clause [1] unauthorised access be amended by inserting the phrase order than 101 to secure and protect the integrity of digital communication or for unlawful purposes after the word SECURE and before the word COMMIT and deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation may amended this Act prescribe and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE100Mln and not more than LE250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding 5 years or to both such fines an imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation partnership or association to a fines of not less than LE100Mln and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; a person including cooperation partnership or association who intentionally and without authorisation causes a computer system to perform a function with intent to secure access to the whole or part of a computer system or to enable such access to be secured other than to protect integrity of digital communication or for unlawful purposes commit an offense and is liable conviction to fines not less than LE100Mln and not more than LE250Mln or to a term of imprisonment not less two years and not exceeding 5 years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mln and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [34] sub clause [1] previously [26] sub clause [1] unauthorized access to protect a system be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding 5 years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; a person including cooperation partnership or association who has been authorised to access a specific data in a computer system without lawful excuse whether temporally or not cause a computer system to perform a function other than that authorise to intentionally permit tempering of such computer system with intent to secure access to the whole or a part of a computer system or to enable such access to be secured commit an offense is liable on conviction to a fines of not less than LE100Mil and not 102 more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding 5 years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [34] sub clause [4] previously [26] sub clause [4] unauthorised access to protect a system be deleted.
Clause [35] sub clause [1 ] previously [27] sub clause [1] penalties, unauthorised data into section be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment, and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [35] sub clause [2] previously clause [27] sub clause [1] unauthorised data into section be amended by inserting penalties to read; commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil to now read; commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and exceeding LE1Bil.
103 Clause [36] penalties previously clause [28] unauthorised data interference be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit and offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [37] penalties previously clause [29] unauthorised system interference be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO inserting a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fine and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil Clause [38] sub clause [1] previously clause [30] misuse of device penalties be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO inserting a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment 104 and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment and not less than two years and not exceeding five years and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [39] previously clause [31] penalties unauthorised disclosure of parcel be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fine not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil.
Clause [40] sub clause [1] previously clause [32] sub clause [1] computer related forgery be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister as may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and exceeding LE100Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; a person including cooperation, partnership or association who intentionally or without authorisation input, alter, delete or suppresses computer data resulting in authentic data with the intent that it be considered or after for legal purposes as if it were authentic regardless of whether or not the data is directly 105 readable or intelligible commit an offense is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding a LE100Mil.
Clause [40] sub clause [2] penalties previously clause [32] sub clause [2] penalties computer related forgery be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fine not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; intentionally or without authorisation input, alters, delete or suppresses computer data resulting in authentic data with the intent that it’s been considered or acting upon for legal purposes as if it were authentic regardless of whether or not the data is directly readable, intelligible commit an offense and is liable to a conviction to a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [41] penalties previously clause [32] computer fraud be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO, and inserting the fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to both such fines and a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; with fraudulent or dishonest intent of procuring without right and economic benefit for himself or for another person commits an offense and is liable upon 106 conviction to a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fine not less than a LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [42] sub clause [1] previously clause [33] sub clause [1] identity theft and impersonation be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO, and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not exceeding seven years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; a person including cooperation, partnership or association who is engaged in the services of any financial institution and as a result of this special knowledge commit identity theft and cheating of it employer, staff, service provider and consultant with the intent to defraud commit an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not exceeding seven years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than a LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [42] sub clause [3] previously clause [33] sub clause [3] identity theft and impersonation be amended by deleting the word STATEMENT and replacing it with the word NEWS after the word FALSE and before the word AS and also deleting the phrase such fines or terms of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO, and inserting a phrase not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not exceeding seven years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the world TO, to now; a person including cooperation, partnership or association who makes or causes to be made either directly 107 or indirectly any false news as a material fact in writing knowing it to be false with the intent that it will be rely upon respecting his identity or that of any other person or his financial condition or that of any other person for the purpose of procuring the issuance of a card or other instrument for himself or another person commit an offense and shall be liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not exceeding seven years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than a LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [43] previously [34] electronic signature be amended by deleting the phrase such fines term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation to made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and exceeding LE100Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; a person including cooperation, partnership, or association who with the intent to defraud and or misrepresent forgery another person’s signature or company mandate commit an offense shall be liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil.
Clause [44] sub clause [1] penalties previously clause [35] sub clause [1] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding 108 LE250Mil after the word TO, to now read; a mutual offense shall be liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE30Mil and more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [44] sub clause [2] previously clause [35] sub clause [2] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the word KNOWINGLY after the word HOE and before the word OR and replacing it with the word RECKLESSLY to now read; a person including a cooperation, partnership or association who recklessly or intentionally sent a message or other matter by means of a computer system or network.
Clause [44] sub clause [2] penalties previously clause [35] clause [2] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE50Mil and more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than three years and not exceeding seven years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and now liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [44] sub clause [2a] previously clause [35] clause [2a] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the word SENT after the word SO and before the word OR and replacing it with the phrase disseminated without consent to now read; is grossly offensive pornographic or of an indecent obscene of menacing character of any such message or matter to be so disseminated without consent or clause [44] sub clause [2] penalties previously clause [35] sub clause [2] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the 109 Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of cooperation, partnership or association to a fine not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [44] sub clause [3] previously clause [36] sub clause [3] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by deleting the phrase committed an offense after the word HAVE and before the word IF and inserting the phrase have acted in contravention of this Act to now read; notwithstanding sub Section [1] a person shall not be deemed to have acted in contravention of this Act if he does an act.
Clause [44] sub clause [3] cyber stocking and cyber bullying be amended by inserting a new clause [46] sub clause [3d] to read; which is intended for a bona-fide scientific or medical research or law enforcement purposes and respect the confidence of the person involved.
Clause [45] sub clause [1] previously clause [36] sub clause [1] cybersquatting be amended by deleting the word OR after the word AUTHORITY and before the word RIGHT and inserting the phrase or reasonable excuse after the word RIGHT and before the word AND also deleting the phrase commit and offense and is liable on conviction to such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word USER and inserting the phrase shall be liable to damages in a civil action as determined by a Judge of the High Court after the word USER to now read; a person including a cooperation, partnership or association who intentionally takes or makes use of a name, business name, trade mark, domain name or other word or phrase registered whom in used by an individual body corporate or belonging to 110 Government institution in Sierra Leone on the internet or any other computer network without authority right or reasonable excuse and for the purpose of interfering with the use by the owner registrant or legitimate prior user shall be liable to damages in the civil action as determine by a Judge of the High Court.
Clause [45] sub clause [2a] cybersquatting be amended by deleting the word OFFENDER after the word THE and before word TO and replacing it with the word PERSON to now read; refusal by the person to relinquish upon formal request by the rightful owner without reasonable excuse of a name, business name, trade mark, domain name or other word or phrase registered own or in use by any individual body corporate or belonging to the Government of Sierra Leone.
THE CHAIRMAN: Okay at this point I really want to congratulate all of us for the extra ordinary patience that we have exercised in this matter, not only by staying but by being so attentive at the same time.

I must say a special thanks and appreciation goes to the Chairman of our Legislative Committee.

I know you are tire as I do.

So we are standing down for five minutes.

THE HOUSE STOOD DOWN AT 4:45PM AND RESUMED AT 4:55PM THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Members, the House resumes.
We are almost at the end of the marathon so continue to show patience and understanding please.

Over to page 28, clause 46, we stopped at the end of page 27 go on Honourable Member.

HON.

MARIO S. CONTEH.
Clause [46] previously clause [37] infringement of copy right and related right be amended deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil without prejudice to civil remedies that may be available immediately after the word TO and also deleting the 111 word UPON after the word LIABLE before the word CONVICTION and replacing it with the word ON to now read; a person including cooperation, partnership or association who through input altercation, modification, notification, deleting suppression or generation of a program or data or through use of a computer system or electronic device wilfully infringes any right protected under the copy right Act NO.
8 of 2011 or any law enforced for protection of copy right and related right commit an offense and is liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil without prejudice to civil remedies that may be available immediately after the word TO and also deleting the word UPON after the word LIABLE and before the word CONVICTION.
Clause [47] sub clause [1a] previously clause [38] sub clause [1a] online try sexual abuse be amended by deleting the word DOWNLOADS after the word VIEWS and before the word TRANSMIT, to now read possess, distribute, produces, views, transmit, disseminate, circulate, delivers, exhibit, lend for gain, exchanges, bettors, sells or offers for sale, rent on hire or offers to rent on hire, print, photographs, copies, provides location and request for offers in any other ways makes available, child pornography to a computer system or storage data medium or.
Clause [47] sub clause [1] penalties previously clause [38] sub clause [1] penalties online sexual abuse be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than five years and not exceeding ten years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and shall be liable on conviction to fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than five years and not exceeding ten years or to both such 112 fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [47] sub clause [2] penalties previously clause [38] sub clause [2] penalties online child sexual abuse be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than ten years and not exceeding fifteen years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil immediately after the word TO, to now read; commit an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than five years and not exceeding ten years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [48] sub clause [1] be inserted to read; a person including a cooperation, partnership or association who: A, take possess or share an intimate image or voice material of a depicted person with without his or her consent.

B, take possess or share an intimate image or voice material of a depicted person without his or her consent with the intention to humiliate alarm or destroy the victim.
C, take possess or share an intimate image or voice material of a depicted person without his or her consent for the purpose of either sexual gratification by the perpetuator or that of an another.

D, threatening to share any intimate image or voice material of a depicted person with intent to cause the depicted person to fear that image or audio material will be share or been reckless as to whether the depicted person will have such fear that the threat will be executed.
E, disseminate or post sexually explicit image media or voice material without the consent of the depicted person whether or not the intent is to shame humiliate, frighten or cause the depicted person harm commit an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than five years and not exceeding ten years or to 113 both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not LE1Bill Clause [48] sub clause [2] be inserted to read; in this Section the expression intimate image or voice material shall include videos images or voice media created by the depicted person which he/she has not willing put into the public domain video images or voice media taken by another video images or voice media in the possession of the perpetuator by any means or whatsoever including been stolen from a hake computer or other digital device of the depicted person video images of voice material that may have been doctored by super imposing the face or voice of a depicted person on to an existing intimate or sexually explicit images or some other voice media.
Clause [48] side note to read; online adult sexual abuse Clause [49] previously clause [39] sub clause [1] attempting, and aiding or abetting be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO, and inserting the phrase the same penalties as that prescribe in respect of the substantive offense under this Act.
Clause [50] previously clause [40] sub clause [1] registration of cyber café be amended by inserting sub clause [1c] to read; is register with a local council and also inserting sub clause [1d] to read; is register with the Office of Administrator and Registrar General.
Clause [50] sub clause [2] previously clause [40] sub clause [2] registration of cyber cafés be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase fines not less than LE5Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil provided the cybercafés owners or managers shall not be liable for such an offense unless there 114 is evidence to the effect that he or she or it were complicit in the commission in the offense immediately after the word TO and deleting the word UPON and the word LIABLE and before the word conviction to now read; a person including cooperation, partnership or association who perpetuate electronic fraud or online fraud under this Act using a cybercafé commit and offense and is liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE5Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil provided the cybercafés owners or managers are liable for such an offense unless there is evidence to the effect that he or she or it were complicit in the commission of the offense.
Clause [51] sub clause [1] previously clause [41] sub clause [1] cyber terrorism be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than ten years and not exceeding fifteen years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil to now read; a person who accesses or causes to be accessed a computer or computer system or network for the purposes of a terrorist act commits and offense and is liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not more than LE250Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than ten years and not exceeding fifteen years or to both such fine and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE500Mil and not exceeding LE1Bil.
Clause [52] sub clause [1b] previously clause [42b] sub clause [1b] raciest xenophobic offense be amended by deleting the phrase as well as after the word ORIGIN and before the word RELIGION and inserting gender, religion as well as disability to now read; threatening through a computer system or network of any other person or group 115 of persons for the reason for belonging to a group distinguish by races, colour, decent, national or ethnic origin, gender religion as well as disability.
Clause [52] sub clause [1] penalties previously [42] sub clause [1] penalties, raciest xenophobic offense be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE250Mil and not exceeding LE500Mil before the word TO, to now read; commit an offense is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not more than LE100Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE250Mil and not exceeding LE500Mil.
Clause [53] sub clause [3] previously clause [43] sub clause [3] reporting cyber threat be amended by inserting the phrase intentionally or without reasonable excuse before the word WHO and before the word FEARS and also deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil before the word TO, to now read; a person or institution who intentionally or without reasonable excuse fails to report an incident of an attack intrusion and other destruction liable to hinder the functioning of another computer system or network to the national computer security response team within seven days of it occurrence commits an offense and is liable upon conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a 116 cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil.
Clause [54] sub clause [1] previously clause [44] sub clause [1] breach of confidence by service provider be amended by deleting the word USE after the word ILLEGALLY and before the word SECURITY and replacing it with the word USES and also deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil to now read; a person or institution which been a computer base service provider and or vendor does an act with intent to defraud and by virtue of his position as a service provider forges illegally uses security code of the consumer with an intent to gain a financial earn or material advantage or with the intent to provide less values for money on his or his services to a consumer commit an offense and upon conviction is liable to a fines not less than LE30Mil and not more than LE50Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [54] sub clause [2] previously clause [44] sub clause [2] breach of confidence by service provider be amended by deleting the word ANY after the word TO before the word NEGLECT and replacing it with the word WILLFUL to now read; where an offense under this Act committed by a body cooperate is proved to have been committed on the instigation or with the connivance of or attributable wilful neglect on the part of a Director, Manager, Secretary, or other line officer of the body cooperate or any officer purporting to act in any such capacity he as well as the body corporate where practicable shall be deemed to have committed the offense.
Clause [54] sub clause [3] previously [44] sub clause [3] breach of confidence by service provider be amended by inserting the phrase which threatening security after 117 the word ACT and before the word THE and also inserting the phrase in the case multiple or repeated offenders after the word MAY and before the word ORDER and also inserting the phrase without prejudice to any liability owing from the said body corporate been self-satisfied at the end of the sentence.
Clause [55] sub clause [1] previously clause [45] sub clause [1] employee responsibility be amended by deleting the word IMMEDIATELY after the word EMPLOYEE and before the word UPON and inserting the phrase within a reasonable time in his possession power or control to now read; without prejudice to any contractual agreement between an employer and employee and employee shall relinquish or surrender all codes of access right to his employer within a reasonable time in his possession power or control upon his engagement for employment.
Clause [56] sub clause [2] previously [45] sub clause [2] employee responsibility be amended by deleting the phrase such fines or term of imprisonment as the Minister may by regulation made under this Act prescribe after the word TO and inserting the phrase a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil to now read; an employee who without any lawful reason continue to hold on to the code or access right of his employer after his engagement without any lawful reason commits an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to an imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE50Mil and not exceeding LE100Mil.
Clause [57] sub clause [1] penalties previously clause [46] sub clause [1] cooperate liability be amended by inserting the phrase and fails to exercise reasonable and proper control over such legal person before the word COMMIT and also inserting the phrase is liable on conviction to a fines not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a 118 cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not exceeding LE50Mil after the word ACT and deleting the phrase for the benefit of the legal person, the legal person shall be liable for the offense under this Act to now read; and fails to exercise reasonable and proper control over such legal person commits an offense under this Act and is liable on conviction to a fines not less than LE10Mil and not more than LE30Mil or to a term of imprisonment not less than one year and not exceeding three years or to both such fines and imprisonment and in the case of a cooperation, partnership or association to a fines not less than LE100Mil and not exceeding LE250Mil.
Clause [58] be inserted to read; without prejudice to the offenses prescribe under this Act and subject to the provision of the children and young person’s cap [44] and Child Right Act of 2007 where an act done by a child will be deemed an offense under this Act such child shall be treated as a juvenile and dealt with accordingly.

Clause [58] side notes to read; act by children.

Part [7] miscellaneous provision Clause [59] previously clause [51] regulations be approved.
Conclusion, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Legislative Committee having scrutinized the Bill entitled; The Cybercrime Act 2020 recommends this proposal for approval.

They reflect the consensus of Honourable Members of the Committee.

I therefore move that the House, the Bill entitled the Cybercrime Act 2022 come into state the third and into law.

I thank you for your attention.

Signed….

Honourable Abdul Marray Conteh, Chairman the Legislative Committee.
THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Members, may I ask you for another resounding applause?

This time it is an applause acknowledging the contribution not only for Members of Parliament but also those participants outside of Parliament who contributed substantially by given us the document that were laid for our consideration including all the civil society organizations, including all individuals.
Once again let me 119 say particularly to all the MPs presently in this Chamber that you deserved the highest commendations for your understanding, for your patient and for your diligent.

If I had the authority I will make sure that your respective parties endorse you for re-elections in 2023 [applause.]

To the Minister, I want to say this is going to be the finest legacies for which your excellence as Minister will be engrave long after you would have left.
In the last Session, your legacy was the repeal of the obnoxious infamous provision of the Public Order Act.

The Fourth Session will recall your finest achievement for the enactment of a new cybercrime Legislation for the Republic of Sierra Leone.
Having said that, I want to make a proposal and I make this proposal taking due cognizance of the fact that a lot of us are going to have difficulties moving from the Bill as presented to us in its original form and the report that has just been read by the Chairman of the Legislative Committee and is not going to be easy to comprehend in moving from one document to another.
We want to make life much easier than that and I have already consulted the two Leaders and the Minister in making this proposal to you which in fact I will couch in the form of a directive that the Minister will work in collaboration with the Draftsman in the Attorney General’s Department to reproduce a Bill and the new Bill must incorporate both those clauses that have not been touched by the Legislative Committee and the numerous clauses that have been amended by the Legislative Committee so that we have a single compendium to deal with.
It will be much easier for us to deal with the cyber law when we return, I hope that is agreeable?

I repeat, Mr Minister I hope I am clear on this.

It might cost you a little bit more money but nothing comes easy as you know.
Our primary duty as a Parliament is to enact Legislation I want to be able to do it properly and frankly I say this out of experience but the best way we can approach this matter, some pieces of Legislation is to consolidate both what has been presented to us and what has been left out in the old Bill into one document and that will be the one we shall consider at Committee stage when we resume.

I take what every Member has already consented to and agreed with.
Shall I hear again your concurrence [applaud.]

120 Thank you.

Are there any announcements?

No announcement.

So with that Honourable Members, we shall take a long adjournment to enable the Honourable Minister to carry out the directive that we have made.

Okay so let us resume from Committee stage to the House.

Mr Minister thank you very much.

You deserve the highest accolade.

I ask once again any announcement?


So with that Honourable Members, the House shall stand adjourn to the 10th of June, 2021 at 10: am.

[The House rose at 5:20 p.m. and was adjourned to Thursday, 15th June, 2021 at 10:00 ADJOURNMENT a.m.] 121