Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698830725314.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 - THIRD MEETING TUESDAY, 13TH DECEMBER, 2016 SESSION – 2015/2016 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: IV NUMBER: 51 Third Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Fourth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone.
Proceedings of the Sitting of the House Held on Tuesday, 13th December, 2016.

2 CONTENTS I. PRAYERS II.

CORRECTION OF VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY SITTING HELD ON FRIDAY, 9TH DECEMBER, 2016 III.

BILL COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY THE APPROPRIATION ACT, 2017 BEING AN ACT TO AUTHORISE EXPENDITURE FROM THE CONSOLIDATED FUND FOR THE SERVICES OF SIERRA LEONE FOR THE YEAR 2017 AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS.
THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [THIRD ALLOTTED DAY] 3 THE CHAMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE Official Hansard Report of the Proceedings of the House _____________________________________________________________ FOURTH SESSION – THIRD MEETING OF THE FOURTH PARLIAMENT OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC _____________________________ Tuesday, 13th December, 2016.

I. PRAYERS [The Clerk, Hon.

Ibrahim Sesay, Read the Prayers].


[The House met at 10:50 a.m. in Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown].

[The Speaker, Hon.

Sheku Badara Basiru Dumbuya, in the Chair].

The House was called to Order 4 Suspension of S. O.

5[2] CORRECTION OF II.


VOTES PARLIAMENTARY SITTING, HELD ON FRIDAY, 9TH DECEMBER, 2016 PROCEEDINGS AND FOR THE COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR THE SPEAKER: Honourable Members, we go through the record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting, held on Friday, 9th December 2016.

As usual, we go through page by page.

Page 1?

Page 2?

Page 3?

Page 4?

Page 5?

Page 6?

Page 7?

Page 8?


There being no amendment or correction, could somebody move for the adoption of the Record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting, held on Friday, 9th December, 2016?

HON.

KUSAN SESAY: Mr Speaker I so move.

THE SPEAKER: Any seconder?

HON.

FRANCIS KONUWA: Mr Speaker, I so second.


[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed to] [Record of Votes and Proceedings for the parliamentary sitting, held on Friday, 9th December, has been adopted as presented] III.
BILL COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY THE APPROPRIATION ACT 2017 BEING AN ACT TO AUTHORISE EXPENDITURE FROM THE CONSOLIDATED FUND FOR THE SERVICES OF SIERRA LEONE FOR THE YEAR 2017 AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [THIRD ALLOTTED DAY] 5 MR MOMODU KARGBO [Minister of Finance and Economic Development]: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I move that the following Vote Heads stand part of the schedule: Vote Div.
Vote Description Amount [Le] 145 00 Right to Access Information Commission 1,719,238,400 110 09 Independent Media Commission [IMC] 483,034,700 122 00 Immigration Department 140 00 Mass Media Services [SLBC] 4,377,695,900 195,864,000 413 00 S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission 1,026,992,700 415 00 Sierra Leone Maritime Administration 205 01 Ministry of Internal Affairs 124 07 Legal Aid Board 212 00 National Drugs Enforcement Agency 124 05 Justice Sector Coordination Office 100,000 1,018,849,200 4,015,871,000 986,669,100 326,477,100 412 00 National Telecommunication Commission [NATCOM] 100,000 307 00 National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU] 703,061,700 144 00 National Commission for Human Rights 1,893,611,900 406 00 Ministry of Energy 4,146,021,900 133 00 Ministry of Information and Communications 2,194,256,000 133 04 Office of the Government‟s Spokesman 372,130,500 405 01 Monument and Relics Commission 1,549,287,800 108 00 Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs 3,170,569,600 701 01 Bombali District Council 701 01 Makeni City Council 701 01 Kambia District Council 3,541,174,890 1,324,861,691 3,655,236,980 6 Various Development Activities National Civil Registration Projects Le180, 000, 000, 000.00 Various Development Activities Others Le142, 316, 024 Devolved Functions Solid Waste Management Services Le4, 826,900,000 Devolved Functions Rural Water Services Le2, 194,300,000 HON.
ALHAJI SERAY DUMBUYA: Mr Chairman, the reports are not available to some of us.

THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Member, you do not have the report?

HON.

ALHAJI SERAY DUMBUYA: Yes, Mr Chairman.

THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Benneh Bangura, what is the position?

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: Mr Chairman, the reports were distributed on Friday.

Though we collected them again, but some Honourable members decided to keep their reports.

THE CHAIRMAN: Were the reports circulated to Members of Parliament?

HON.
HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: They were distributed on Friday.

Some of the reports were collected and some Members decided to take their reports home without bringing them for today‟s hearing.

THE CHAIRMAN: What do you mean when you said some of them collected?

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: The Reports were distributed to Members of Parliament with the assumption that Sub-Appropriation Committee III was going to present its Report on Friday.
Mr Chairman, that did not happen and when Parliament was adjourned, some Members decided to take their reports home.

THE CHAIRMAN: So, the reports were distributed.

HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE: Mr Speaker, I was not here on Friday, so I don‟t have a copy of that Report.

If the reports were indeed distributed, they should be in our pigeonholes.

7 THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Bashiru Silikie, the fact that you were not here on Friday is no excuse.
Honourable Benneh Bangura, were the reports put in the pigeonholes of everybody?

HON.

BASHIRU SILIKIE: Yes, Mr Chairman the reports were collected on the same day and distributed in the Well of Parliament.

Everybody would attest to the fact that the reports were distributed on Friday.

HON.

ANSUMANA J. KAIKAI: I thank you, Mr Speaker.

The issue here is that some Members still have their reports that were distributed.

I still have my own copy with me.


The fact of the matter is that the proceedings have certain number of days and this House also has a very important occasion that we are all aware of, which must take place this week.

This Chamber has to be prepared and other things have to happen.

If the Member of Parliament from Bo District does not have a copy, I will endeavour to let him have my report.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Honourable Ansumana J. Kaikai.
I call on the Chairman of that Report to make his presentation.

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Mr Chairman, I want to crave your indulgence to permit me to delegate this responsibility to a very senior member of my Committee, whom I think would not only eloquently deliver, but would perform to our expectations.

Mr Speaker, I have no hesitation to delegate the reading of this Report to the Honourable Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo.

I thank you very much.

HON.


IBRAHIM BEN KARGBO: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I present to you the Sub-Appropriation Committee III Report: 1.

INTRODUCTION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, budget scrutiny is one of the major responsibilities of Parliament in modern democracy.

In parliamentary parlance, it is referred to as the „legislature‟s power of the purse;‟ which means that it is the central point of reference in terms of public accountability.
Thus, Parliament has the power and authority [as 8 inscribed in Section 112, Sub-sections 1-5 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone; and Section 3[a-b] of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016], to make amendments to the budget proposals.

In view of the above, Sub-Appropriation Committee III considered the 2016 and 2017 budgets with the themes, „Strengthening Resilience and Building a Diversified Economy,‟ and „Recovery Through Economic Diversification and Fostering Entrepreneurship‟ respectively.
Both budgets were designed to overcome the numerous challenges confronting the socio-economic development of Sierra Leone.
In the 2017 budget, for instance, the Minister said that „the relatively undiversified nature of the economy with high unemployment, low economic growth, potential external shocks such as inflationary pressures from international food and fuel prices, fluctuations in World Market prices of major exports, especially the mineral products, harsh economic realities caused by sky-rocketing exchange rates, domestic debts, and low domestic revenue,‟ to name but a few, were some of the challenges confronting the economic development of Sierra Leone.
The macroeconomic and fiscal strategies required to respond to the aforementioned challenges, as espoused by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development in the 2017 budget, geared towards achieving an increased trajectory of the Gross Domestic Product [GDP] and sustaining growth in its entirety through enhancing domestic revenue by improving tax administration and the tax base, re-orienting public expenditure in favour of prioritised capital spending, whilst rationalising recurrent expenditure; and monetary policy focusing on sustainable economic growth, a flexible exchange rate regime, and developing a medium term debt burden relief strategy.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, it is a fact that our economy has not generated the much desired results as expected, partly because of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Diseases in 2014, that shut down all major socio-economic activities and whose multiplier effects are still lingering in this Nation‟s economy.
The implementation of any measure to stabilise this economic malaise requires stern fiscal discipline with regards how the Ministries, Departments and Agencies [MDAs] receive moneys from the 9 consolidated fund in executing their activities in a bid to minimise unnecessary and excessive spending of public funds.

Thus, this exercise was done in compliance with Section 112 [6] of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No 6 and Sections 64[3] and 66[1] of the Standing Orders.

2.
2.

SCOPE OF THE EXERCISE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the hearings on the various MDAs allocated to Sub- Appropriation Committee III for 2017 FY were conducted in Parliament Building, Tower Hill, Freetown.

The Committee started its hearings on Thursday, 24th and ended on Wednesday, 30th November, 2016.

The exercise covered twenty-one [21] MDAs as listed below: MDAs ACCOUNT HEADS [INCLUDING SUB-HEADS] FOR 2017 Vote Div.
Vote Description Amount [Le] 145 00 Right to Access Information Commission 1,719,238,400 110 09 Independent Media Commission [IMC] 483,034,700 122 00 Immigration Department 140 00 Mass Media Services [SLBC] 4,377,695,900 195,864,000 413 00 S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission 1,026,992,700 415 00 Sierra Leone Maritime Administration 205 01 Ministry of Internal Affairs 124 07 Legal Aid Board 212 00 National Drugs Enforcement Agency 124 05 Justice Sector Coordination Office 100,000 1,018,849,200 4,015,871,000 986,669,100 326,477,100 412 00 National Telecommunication Commission [NATCOM] 100,000 307 00 National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU] 703,061,700 144 00 National Commission for Human Rights 1,893,611,900 406 00 Ministry of Energy 4,146,021,900 133 00 Ministry of Information and Communications 2,194,256,000 10 133 04 Office of the Government‟s Spokesman 372,130,500 405 01 Monument and Relics Commission 1,549,287,800 108 00 Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs 3,170,569,600 701 01 Bombali District Council 701 01 Makeni City Council 701 01 Kambia District Council 3,541,174,890 1,324,861,691 3,655,236,980 3.
PROCEDURE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, before the commencement of the exercise, summon letters were sent out to all Vote Controllers, requesting their physical presence, both past and present core staff.

Also, open-ended questionnaires were sent out to all MDAs consigned to this Committee.

In line with S.O.
In line with S.O.

66[1], Vote Controllers, Senior Officials and Accountants were requested to respond to questions relating to their budgetary allocations, state their challenges and provide explanation on how they have been carrying out their responsibilities.

This was done in order to determine the efficient and effective use of financial resources.

During the course of the exercise, the Committee observed traditionally established parliamentary procedures.
For instance, reading the relevant provisions in the Constitution and the Standing Orders to emphasize the Committee‟s legal standing, and putting auditees on oath to ascertain the authenticity and accuracy of their responses to the Committee, as provided for in Section 93, Sub-section 6[a] of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.

Besides, in line with S.O.


73[20], the hearings were open to the public, but this Committee admonished media houses about premature publications of Committee decisions as contained in S.O.

75[1-3].

4.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE 1.

Hon.

Benneh Bangura - Chairman; 2.

Hon.

Alusine Marah - Deputy Chairman; 3.

Hon.

Alhassan Kamara; 4.

Hon.

P.C.

Mansa Paki Kabombor II; 11 5.

Hon.

Moiwa Momoh; 6.

Hon.

Mohamed K. Tholley; 7.

Hon.

Alimamy G. Kargbo; 8.

Hon.

Mabinty Fornah; 9.

Hon.


Ibrahim Nox Sankoh; 10.

Hon.

Sahr Sangbah; 11.

Hon.

Samuel H. Brima; 12.

Hon.

Daniel Y. Sesay; 13.

Hon.

Agibola Manley-Spain; 14.

Hon.

Alpha B. Lewally; 15.

Hon.

Lansana Ibrahim Kemokai; 16.

Hon.

P.C.

Bai Kurr Kanagbaro Sanka III; 17.

Hon.

Sulaiman Muluku Sesay; 18.

Hon.

Mabinty Khadija Sillah; and 19.

Hon.

Ibrahim Ben Kargbo.

Secretariat: 1.

Moriba Songa, Clerk-in-Charge; 2.

Musa L. A. Foullah; 3.

Rita Sesay; and 4.

Abdul Rahim Sowe.

5.


OBJECTIVES OF THE EXERCISE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, without prejudice to the provisions of S.O.
66 [1], the Committee probed into the activities of the aforesaid MDAs in order to:  investigate whether the expenditure of the various MDAs conformed to established financial rules and regulations;  investigate whether MDAs received all quarterly allocations and how those allocations affected their operations for the FY 2016;  the level of commitment by Government for counterpart payments for development projects and how that would affect implementation; 12  assess the impact of the economic measures on development projects of MDAs; and  probe into MDAs level of commitment in meeting revenue targets.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, before delving into the specifics of this report, I wish to thank and commend the Leadership of Parliament, especially the Chairman and Members of the Finance Committee for their efforts in organising the Sub-Appropriation Committees and coordinating their activities within the limited time frame.

My special thanks go to the Office of the Clerk for providing the secretariat for this Committee that worked tirelessly in compiling this Report.

6.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, during scrutiny of the various MDAs assigned to this Committee, the following general observations were noted:  that the bad memories of the Ebola Virus Disease [EVD] still linger in our economy and has resulted in stalling major development projects, resulting in poor revenue generation in the country;  that due to the economic measures announced by government, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development made no significant increase in the allocations to almost all MDAs.
The Committee noted that that would affect the implementation of major development projects in the country;  that most MDAs have serious challenges with lack of counterpart funding for development projects.

This, they said, would serve as a major impediment to achieving service delivery.
The Committee recommends that Government meets its financial obligations on time;  that on the devolved functions, it was observed that year in year out most devolved funds for Local Councils are neither devolved on time or nor devolved at all.

This impacted negatively on projects implementation; and  that the parliamentary Committees overseeing those MDAs have not been following- up on the recommendations of Sub-Appropriation Committees because the same issues kept appearing every year.

13 7.
SPECIFIC OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 145 00 RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Right to Access Information Commission is one of the newest Commissions established by an Act of Parliament in 2013 and became operational in 2015 with the mandate to:  monitor public authorities in terms of responding and complying with the laws under the 2013 Right to Access Information Act;  make necessary recommendations for the reformation of information accessibility; and  undertake training activities on the right to access information and to ensure the effective implementation of the Act.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, information management is very herculean and challenging.

In 2016 FY, this Commission received the sum of Le 719,100,000, which was used on overseas travels to attend conferences, rent, fuel, top-up-cards, etc.

Probing into the Commission‟s expenditure pattern, the Committee discovered that the sum of Le 300,000,000 was spent on rentage of offices in the Northern, Southern and Eastern regions.
Queried on why so much money was spent on rent, the Chairperson informed the Committee that part of the amount under consideration was spent on administrative expenses.

However, the Chairperson could not provide receipts to authenticate his arguments.

The Chairperson told the Committee that the reason to secure those offices in every region was to ensure a complete decentralisation of the work of the Commission in the provinces.
He revealed that one of the rented structures was without staff due to the moratorium on employment.

However, he said that there were volunteers presently occupying that structure.

The Committee applauded the move to decentralise the work of the Commission, but vehemently frowned at the huge amount spent on rental without the full cadre of staff needed to run those offices.

The Committee described that action as a waste of resources.
Examining the issue on official vehicles maintained in the Commission, the Chairperson told the Committee that the Commission had only two official vehicles, but said one of 14 those vehicles was on loan.

Nevertheless, the Committee found out that there were five drivers employed by the Commission.
Asked to explain why the number of drivers surpassed the official vehicles in the Commission, the Chairperson revealed that those drivers were employed and maintained in the payroll in anticipation of the purchase of additional vehicles.

However, the Chairperson said that four of those drivers had been attached to the Commissioners, who had private vehicles.
The Committee described such arrangement as preposterous and a complete waste of taxpayers‟ money, stating that there had never been a law or a policy that authorised Vote Controllers of government entities to attach official drivers paid from the consolidated fund to drive private vehicles instead of official ones.

Further probing questions put to the Chairperson and team revealed that the relationship between him [Chairperson] and staff was not as cordial as expected in a working environment.
It was observed that the Chairperson was playing a dual role as both a Chairperson and Vote Controller.

Questioned on why he had chosen to snatch away the functions of the Executive Secretary, who was supposed to be the Vote Controller of the said Commission, the Chairperson informed the Committee that Section 15, sub-section 2[a-d] of Public Financial Management Act, 2016 gave him the power to also act as Vote Controller.
Section 15, sub-section 2[a-d] states that the Vote Controller of an entity shall be: [a] Permanent Secretary of Government Ministry; [b] Chief Administrator of a Local Council; [c] Managing Director or a General Manager, Executive Director or other head of a State-owned enterprise, or [d] Head of a Government Department, Agency or Commission.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Section the Chairperson relied on does not, in any way, pinpoint the fact that the Chairperson should act as Vote Controller even when the Executive Secretary is present.

The use of the conjunction „or‟ clearly indicates that in the absence of the Executive Secretary, the Chairperson could step on his behalf as Vote Controller.
The Committee noted that “in other Commissions, like the 15 National Electoral Commission and Human Rights Commission that have similar administrative structures, the Chairpersons of those Commissions have never relied on Section 15, sub-section 2[d] of the said Act to usurp the functions of the Executive Secretary as Vote Controller.

The Committee maintained that the said Section could have been used by Chairpersons in other Commissions to arrogate the duties of their respective Executive Secretaries.
Thus, the Committee rebuffed the argument flagged up by the Chairperson as untenable.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Commission‟s 2017 budgetary submission to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was Le, 1,756,600,000, and was allocated with the same amount.
Based on the foregoing, therefore, the Committee recommends that:  the parliamentary Committee on Finance probes into the Commission‟s excessive expenditure on overseas travels;  the parliamentary Committee on Information and Communications probes into issues bothering on the Commission‟s administration; and  the 2017 allocation to the tune of Le, 1,756,600,000 be approved by the House.
110 09 INDEPENDENT MEDIA COMMISSION [IMC] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Independent Media Commission [IMC] was established by an Act of Parliament in 2000.

The Act, as amended in 2006 and 2007 respectively, gears towards meeting the everyday challenges in the media landscape of the country.

Its primary aim is to ensure a free and pluralistic media throughout the country.
The Act further states that „It shall be the function of the Commission to advise the Minister of Information and Communications on media policy formulation and development and to ensure that every person shall have, irrespective of that person‟s race, colour or sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status, access to fair coverage in the broadcast media.‟ 16 For the period under review, Mr Chairman Honourable Members, IMC submitted an original budget of Le 787,000,000 to the Ministry of Finance, but Le 483,000,000, excluding salary grants.
This amount was expended on the day to day running of the office, monitoring the activities of media houses and other charges.

The Committee also observed that the Commission received Le 99,750,000 as supplementary budget which was used for office rent.
The Committee further learnt that the Commission received donor funds to the tune of Le 29,504,160 from the UNESCO, which according to the Vote Controller, was used to develop guidelines and training journalists on how to report issues relating to the Ebola Virus Disease [EVD] and other health emergencies.
Replying to the Committee‟s probing questions on the Commission‟s 2016 revenue sources and targets, the Committee was informed that the Commission generated Le227,595,250 out of a revenue target of Le 200,000,000 from the sales of Application Forms, Renewal of Telecommunication Licenses, Renewal of Newspaper and Radio Licenses, Fines, etc.
Reacting to the Committee‟s follow-up question on why the Commission exceeded revenue target for 2016 FY, the Vote Controller attributed that to the robust measures employed by the Commission.

Asked to educate the Committee whether the said amount was remitted to the Consolidated Fund, the Chairman informed the Committee that the said amount was used to support recurrent expenditure.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee also observed that the Commission‟s 2016 allocation for recurrent expenditure was cut down by 30%, which according to the Vote Controller was in compliance with the economic measures announced by Government on the 3rd October, 2016.

Asked to expand on the ripple effects the deduction had on the Commission‟s performance, the Committee was informed that the deduction affected areas such as monitoring of media houses and administrative cost.
17 For 2017 FY, the Commission made original budget submission of Le 848,138,000, but was allocated Le 493,000,000.

According to the Vote Controller, the decrease would affect the following:    the conduct of seminars/workshops on multiple media oversight; training and payment of stipends to monitors; travelling [Local and Foreign]; and  Administrative costs; etc.
Reacting to the Committee‟s query on the challenges facing this Commission, the Chairman of the IMC told the Committee that:  there had been no provision for court cases, which according to the IMC Act, the Commission can sue or be sued; lack of sitting accommodation; and the use of old vehicles and buildings; etc.

  In respect of the above, therefore, the Committee recommends that a supplementary budget provision be considered for this Commission to enable it functions effectively.
Nonetheless, the Committee advised the Commission to be mindful of the fact that: [a] revenue generated should be disclosed to the National Revenue Authority [NRA]; and [b] all donations and grants should be disclosed to Parliament, as spelt out in Section 118, Sub-section 7 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone.
122 00 SIERRA LEONE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Immigration Department, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is one of the revenue generating Departments in the country.

In 2016 Financial Year, Immigration Department submitted a budget of Le 4,599,903,400, but was allocated the sum of Le 3,764,008,700, slightly above what was allocated in 2015.
Probing into the utilization of the said amount, the Chief Immigration Officer [CIO] informed the Committee that the money in question was expended on local and foreign travels, electricity, Office and General, Training of Border Guards and Immigration 18 Personnel, generator running cost, rental cost for the Head Quarter and Regional Offices.
The Committee commented on the huge amounts spent on water, computers and foreign travels, and asked the Vote Controller to review the Department‟s foreign travels and adhere to the economic measures announced by Government.

Examining the Department‟s revenue generation drive for the period under consideration, the Executive Secretary told the Committee that a blanket revenue target was set for non-tax departments of the National Revenue Authority [NRA].
He however revealed to the Committee that the sums of Le 4,496,439,274 and Le 3,692,899,474 were raised as revenue in 2015 and 2016 respectively from the sales of passports and passport forms, landing visas, sales of non-citizen registrations forms, residential permit fees for non-citizens, naturalisation fee, and sales of seaman book.
The Committee observed a sharp decrease in revenue generation for 2016, for which the Committee was not displeased, and asked Management to employ robust measures, so as to overcome any obstacles that might have caused the shrinkage in revenue collection.
Responding to the Committee‟s query on whether the said amount was utilised by the Department or not, the Chief Immigration Officer revealed that all moneys collected under the various revenue streams were transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund on a daily basis at the Bank of Sierra Leone.

He maintained that the Department had no authority to retain revenue collected for any purpose as provided for in the National Revenue Authority Act.
Queried on those paying for visas and resident permits on landing, the Chief Immigration Officer pointed out that “with the exception of the United Nation Agencies and Foreign Missions in Sierra Leone, all other institutions employing the services of expatriate and consultant have been paying for visas on landing and resident permits.” According to him, those sources of revenue formed major part of the revenue for the Department.
19 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, considering the circumstance under which such colossal amount was raised, the Committee was of the view that the Chief Immigration Officer and his team deserved a tap on the back for a job well done.

For 2017 FY, this Department was allocated Le 4,377,695,900 by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, which the Committee observed was adequate.

Therefore, the Committee recommends that the said amount be approved by this Honourable House.
140 00 MASS MEDIA SERVICES Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Section 11 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No.6 of 1991 states the relevance and obligations of the Mass Media in Sierra Leone.

Therefore, the Mass Media Services was the nomenclature for the now defunct Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services, which was transformed to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation [SLBC] by an Act of Parliament in 2010 to serve as a bridge between the media landscape and government.
The Act gives extensive mandate to the SLBC as stated in Section 10[1&2] of the Act.

For 2017 FY, Mass Media Services was allocated Le 195,864,000, the same allocation made for 2016.
Again, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, during a telephone interview with the Director-General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, he told the Committee‟s Secretariat that he would not appear before any parliamentary Committee, stating that since the transformation of that institution into a corporation, SLBC had not received any allocation from government.
The Secretariat asked the Director-General to come and explain some of those challenges to the Committee for onward consideration, which he rebuffed.

In last year‟s Appropriation Report, this same Sub-Appropriation Committee recommended that the parliamentary Committees on Finance and Information look into the issue and report to the House, but no Committee presented any report.
As a result, this Committee had no clear information relating to the utilisation of those funds from neither the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications nor the Director-General of SLBC.
20 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the refusal of the Director-General of SLBC to respond to the Committee‟s summon for the second time was not only a slap on the leadership of the Committee, but the leadership of the House because every parliamentary Committee represents the Committee of the whole House.
Besides the allocations to SLBC by government, there were other issues this Committee would have examined, vis-à-vis, compliance with Section 19 [1&2] of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation Act of 2010; which talks about the Corporation‟s annual report to be presented in this House.
In that light, the Committee recommends that:  the 2017 allocation to Vote Head 140 00, Mass Media Services be withheld, pending investigation by the parliamentary Committees on Finance and Information, as to whom this allocation be directed; and  the leadership of this House looks into the Director-General‟s persistent refusal to appear before this Sub-Appropriation Committee.
413 00 SIERRA LEONE ELECTRICITY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission was established by an Act of Parliament in 2011, with the mandate to regulate the provision of highest quality of electricity and water services to consumers, pursuant to Section 10[2] of the said Act through:  monitoring the standards of performance for the provision of electricity and water services;  the provision of guidelines on rates chargeable for providing electricity and water services;  the protection of the interests of consumers and providers of electricity and water services; and  the issuance of licenses, and as the case may be, renew, amend, revoke and cancel licenses.
21 In 2016 FY, Le 2,026,992,700 was allocated to this Commission, but received Le 1,317,300,000.

In 2017 FY, the sum of Le 1,026,992,700 was allocated; registering a 50% decrease in the allocation.

During scrutiny, the Committee observed that:  the Commission generated revenue to the tune of Le 1.1Bln, which registered a 57.6% drop in its projected target of Le 2.6Bln.
The Committee was not pleased with the reasons advanced for the drop in revenue generation, especially when the Commission alluded it to the financial constraints of its registered customers; and  the Commission‟s expenditure on furniture and computers from October, 2015 to November, 2016 was approximately Le 200,000,000, which raised concerns, as documents relating to those procurements were not adduced to this Committee for authentication.
Besides, the Committee observed a paradigm shift of purchases to satisfy the offices, rather than the technical equipment meant for the field monitoring and supervision.
In view of the above, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, coupled with the ardent desire of this Honourable House to see this Commission succeeds, the Committee recommends that: [a] with the establishment of the Treasury Single Account, the Commission now maintain a properly documented records of all revenue generated with receipts of payments into the consolidated fund; [b] the proposed 2017 wage Bill be contingent in the revenue generated; and [c] the 50% decrease in allocation is viewed by the Committee to be in line with the current economic measures.
415 00 SIERRA LEONE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION [SLMA] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration was established, in 2000 by an Act of Parliament as a body charged with the responsibility for the registration of ships and other sea vessels, to regulate, develop and improve standards of performance in the shipping industry in Sierra Leone, including coastal and inland water transport systems and the marine environment.
SLMA is a revenue 22 generating entity that collects taxes in the form of freight levies, vessel registrations, and the collection of tonnage taxes under the national and international registry and proceeds are paid directly into the consolidated fund.
Its Safety Department, in collaboration with other Agencies, conducts a 24 hour watch on the marine environment with ultra–modern equipment and boats to ensure adequate and prompt response to accidents within the Nation‟s territorial waters and inland waterways.
Though most times SLMA comes under public criticisms on the monitoring of local passenger boats [Pampa] and the poor state of ferries plying the Freetown-Targrin axis with regards non–compliance to safety rules, but their professional advice and strict safety regulations enforced within the past two years had saved many lives, especially during the rains.
The Sierra Leone Maritime Administration generated Le 23,038,121,000 in 2015 and Le 28,539,306,770 in 2016, out of revenue targets of Le 25,897,374,000 and Le 32,419,604,000 respectively.

From the above, it was observed that SLMA raised revenue closer to its targets due to the robust measures put in place in its boats registration drive.

In 2015, the shortfall in terms of revenue was 11.04% and11.90% in 2016.
The Committee observed that both years [2015 & 2016], proved better than 2014 due to better monitoring mechanisms and policy implementations by the Administration.

Mr Chairman, Honorable Members, in the 2015 and 2016 Financial Years, SLMA was allocated Le 100,000.00, which meant that the Agency had no subvention from government.

Its expenditure on office running, trainings amongst others was Le 15,486,490,923 for the 2016, thus registering a net gain of Le 13,050,815,857 as of 31st November, 2016.
Management further revealed that the net profit would slightly increase at the end of December, 2016.
The Committee expressed satisfaction over Management‟s performance for the period under review, but recommends that:  the parliamentary Committee on Transport and Aviation requests for reports relating to all overseas travels to ascertain their benefits to the institution and at the same time inspect donor funded projects to ensure 23 that those projects were implemented in accordance with the projects‟ guidelines; and  the parliamentary Committee on Finance takes the lead to inquire into SLMA‟s expenditure pattern in 2016.
205 01 MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible to:  maintain the National Population Register;   register and record births and deaths; issue identity documents;  manage immigration and control post entries;  maintain internal order and security in the country; and  ensure the welfare of prisoners/inmates in state prisons and correctional centres.
To perform the above functions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has the following institutions set up by Acts of Parliament: [a] Sierra Leone Police; [b] Correctional Centre Services; [c] National Registration Authority; [d] National Fire Force; and [e] Immigration Department The above mentioned departments have their own budgetary allocations and Vote Controllers, independent of the main Ministry.
The Home Affairs Ministries, as they are called in other countries, are strategic entities that work closely with governments on a daily basis to maintain security and serenity of the state, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs is usually amongst the poorly funded ministries in Sierra Leone.

In 2016 FY, the budgetary allocation to this Ministry was Le 1,018,849,200, which was coincidentally the same amount maintained for the 2017 FY.
The Vote Controller informed the Committee that in 2016, Le 570,654,760 was received by the Ministry.

The 43.9% cut in the 2016 allocation apparently affected the Ministry in terms of maintenance of vehicles, office running cost, etc.

The Committee also noted that in 24 2015 FY, Le 1,944,976,000 was received by this Ministry.

According to the Vote Controller, the above constituted government‟s regular budget to the tune of Le 224,500,000 and supplementary budget of Le 1,724,476,000.
Questioned how the said amounts were utilised, the Permanent Secretary [PS] gave a succinct explanation to the Committee, supported by documentary evidence.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the government‟s inability to maintain and fully fund the passport trade in the Immigration Department has resulted in huge loss of revenue on the part of government.

Presently, gains made from the sale of passports are going to Private Company, acting as surrogate for the passport printing company.
In view of the above, therefore, the Committee recommends that:  the Executive have a rethink on how to reposition the Ministry, so as to enable it generate revenue and regain its glory; and  this Ministry be considered for a supplementary budget to enable it upgrade its offices and solve its vehicular maintenance problems.
124 07 LEGAL AID BOARD Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone was established by an Act of Parliament in 2012, with the mandate to provide, administer, coordinate and monitor the provisions of legal aid in civil and criminal matters that brings justice to the door step of the ordinary people.

The Board presently has 9 trained paralegals, out of 306 that were required to monitor and promote justice in all the 149 Chiefdoms, including the Western Rural/Urban Areas.
The Legal Aid Board is a laudable venture by this government, but still faces financial constraints in making it more accessible to the majority of Sierra Leoneans, especially the women in the rural areas and youth.

In 2015 and 2016 FYs, government allocated Le 4,015,871,000 to establish offices across the country, train paralegals/police and set up citizen‟s Advisory Bureau and Mediation for disputes resolution.
During cross examination, the Committee observed that:  the actual receipts for 2015 and 2016 FYs were Le 1,259,380,885 and Le 3,533,270,000 respectively.

According to the Executive Director, the reductions in 25 the original budgets affected the operations of the Board, especially on areas such as awareness raising campaigns and payments to contract lawyers;  vast majority of Sierra Leoneans now have access to legal representation in formal courts when their rights are violated.
What has been appreciated by all and sundry is the assistance rendered to inmates in the various Correctional Centres.

That assistance, the Committee noted during its engagement with Board Members, had improved the justice system in the country; and  the financial records presented to this Committee were in consonance with what was required as all transactions and contracts were documented.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, further probing questions revealed that the Board received Le 297,763,500 and Le 29,479,000 for 2015 and 2016 respectively from the ASJP and UNICEF.

Asked to provide a synopsis of how the said funds were utilised, the Executive Director informed the Committee that those donor funds were expended on capacity building [training workshops] on child protection and justice for children.
Documents in respect of how those funds were utilised were presented to the Committee for verification.

However, the Committee counselled that:  in future, donor funds be reported to the House, as required by Section 118, Sub-Section 7 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone; and  this Office be considered for supplementary budget to enable it fulfil its mandate.
212 00 NATIONAL DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY [NDLEA] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency [NDLEA] was established by an Act of Parliament in January, 2003.

Its mandate is to combat illegal drug trade in the country.

Sierra Leone, like other nations, works with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNDC] in the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking of drugs by land, sea and air.
Since its inception, much is still desired because the Agency lacks operational infrastructure and personnel, mobility and detective equipment to carry out its responsibilities.

During scrutiny, the Committee observed that: 26  the Agency lacked the necessary capacity to function as a Drug Enforcement Agency.
This inability, coupled with drug related violence amongst the youthful population in this country, requires the attention of this Honourable House to seriously look into the issue;  because of the non-enactment of the relevant statutory instrument that would authorise the NDLEA personnel to detain, enter, investigate and search [as provided for in the Police Act of 1964 and the Pharmacy and Drugs Act of 2011], the Agency had not prosecuted a single case since its establishment;  the NDLEA staff were deployed at the Lungi Airport and Queen Elizabeth II Quay to monitor illicit trafficking and transhipment of cocaine, and the illegal export of cannabis.
In that light, the Committee inquired into the internal dynamics of this Agency and discovered that its current staff strength was twenty-two [22] out of four hundred and eighty-two [482] required staff, one [1] out of eighty-one [81] vehicles required, no drug detection equipment and security equipment, no uniform and only one [1] headquarter building located in Freetown.
The Committee also observed that the Agency had not been fully decentralised in terms of establishing regional offices in the provinces.

Based on the above, the Agency forwarded a budget of Le 30,227,942,353 in 2015 to make it functional.

It however received Le 886,100,000 in 2015.

Further scrutiny revealed that Le 886,100,000 and Le 690,700,000 were received in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The above receipts fell short of the original submissions made by this Agency.
For 2017 FY, the same amount of Le 986, 669,000 was allocated.

According to the Management team, the said allocation would be like „a drop in the ocean,‟ taking cognizance of the Agency‟s strategic plan.
In view of the above, the Committee recommends that: 27  this Honourable House undertakes a thorough review of the above mentioned allocation through the Committees on Defence, Health and Internal Affairs and report back to Parliament; and  a supplementary budget be considered to enable the Agency works effectively.

124 05 JUSTICE SECTOR COORDINATION OFFICE [JSCO] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in achieving its objectives, JSCO is supported by government and donor funds.
This Office received Le 725,200,000 for recurrent and development funds, and a total of Le 172,145,000 from UNICEF [Le 95,105,000] and Irish Aid [Le 77,040,000].

During scrutiny, the Vote Controller presented a copy of the letter to the Committee that was written to the Clerk of Parliament, declaring receipt of the above donations.
The Committee noted that those donor funds were utilised on: [i] child sexual violence and justice project under the „Justice Sector Child Protection System Strengthening Programme,‟ an integral government child protection strategy sponsored by UNICEF; and [ii] activities aimed at repealing Part V of the Public Order Act of 1965.

However, the Committee queried the absence of a detailed activity plan and associated cost which were not made available to the Committee.
The reporting mechanism of the activities of JSCO was also seriously questioned as not many people knew what has been achieved so far.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, JSCO‟s 2017 budgetary submission was Le 973,400,000, but was allocated Le 326,477,100, which registered a 66.5% reduction in its budget support for the numerous activities outlined by Management for implementation in 2017 FY.
The Committee, after thorough interrogations, recommends that in the event of acute donor fatigue, this Office be granted supplementary budget provisions, so as to boost the Primary Justice Sector in such areas as 28 Chiefdom Police Training Programmes, Gender Based Violence Advocacy, in collaboration with the SLP family support unit.
412 00 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION [NATCOM] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Telecommunication Commission [NATCOM] was established by an Act of Parliament in 2006, and amended thereafter in 2009 as the sole telecommunication regulator, licenses and regulation of telecommunication operators, manage radio frequency spectrum, geo-stationary orbit and radio transmission.
The formation of this regulatory body, as clearly stated in Pillar 4 of the Agenda for Prosperity, under International Competitiveness, assumes regulatory role to liberalise and introduce more competition in the telecommunication sector.

To expedite its operations, NATCOM launched the National Advisory Council in 2011, which acts as the power house for telecommunication and ICT developments in Sierra Leone.
For 2016 FY, NATCOM did not submit any budget to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development; and as a result, no allocation was made in that regard.

However, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, through the diversification of its monitoring and licenses regime, NATCOM generated the sum of Le 34,538,396,265 as revenue from Mobile Operators/Service Providers, out of a revenue target of Le 46,661,589,000.
The reason why the Commission was unable to meet revenue target, according to the Vote Controller, was because of the withdrawal of RAWABI‟s License for non-payment of fees, cancellation of Comium‟s License for non-payment of regulatory fees and the cancellation of Ambitel/Greenet‟s License for non-payment and exceeding time for roll out.
Speaking on other available sources of revenue for the Commission, the Acting Deputy Director-General told the Committee that penalty fines for late payment of regulatory fees, fines for Simbox Fraud or review of the regulatory fees to match international standards should be considered.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, as clearly explained, NATCOM generates revenue from mobile Operators.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that 29 the Le 100,000 allocation to this Commission for 2017 be approved by the House, and the Committees on Information and Finance carefully look into the regulatory mechanism of this Commission on mobile operators and the benefits derived therein.
307 00 NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL PROCUREMENT UNIT [NPPU] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU] was established by an Act of Parliament in 2012, as an autonomous body governed by the Directors to provide an effective, efficient and transparent environment for the supply of essential medicines of requisite quality, efficacy, accessibility and affordability in all public health institutions in Sierra Leone.
In 2015 FY, the Committee scrutinised its budget allocation and reported to this House that the then Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Kaifala Marah, made a pronouncement in 2016 Budget Speech that the NPPU would be a Unit under the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in 2017, which the Committee cautioned that it would be a serious constitutional breach, except this House approved of that announcement.
The 2017 Budget was defended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation [MoHS], instead of the Director of NPPU.

The PS informed the Committee that:  MoHS was in the process of changing the nomenclature of the NPPU to encompass a broader service delivery.
According to him, that would be done after a Cabinet decision before the draft is sent to Parliament;  the 2016 allocation to the NPPU was still held at the Ministry of Finance, following the dissolution of both the Board and Management by an Executive Order of His Excellency the President in January, 2016.
The reasons proffered were not properly disclosed as the matter was under investigation;  MoHS was making frantic effort to maintain and secure the drugs at the Central Medical Stores that require continuous electricity to keep the vaccines and essential drugs useful, but was constrained with the high running cost; and 30  in 2016, the sum of Le 703,061,700 was allocated to this Unit, which could have taken care of Administrative cost, purchase and distribution of the Free Health Care drugs country wide.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, being that NPPU is very strategic in the drug supply chain to government‟s public health institutions, the Committee recommends that:  the Ministry of Finance temporarily releases the Unit‟s allocation through the MoHS, so as to maintain the already procured drugs in the stores;  the Unit resumes full control of the budget as soon as the statutory ratifications are done in terms of changing the Unit‟s name; and  the NPPU Act of 2012 is still in operation until after the necessary amendments by Parliament are made.
144 00 NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS [NCHR] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Commission for Human Rights was established by an Act of Parliament in 2004 to protect human rights in Sierra Leone.
According to Part III, Section 7[2], this is done through:  investigating or inquiring, on its own or on complaint by any person, any allegation of human rights violation and to report thereon on writing;  promoting and respecting human rights; and  reviewing existing legislations and to advise the government concerning compliance by such legislation with the obligations of Sierra Leone under international treaties or agreements amongst others.
The NCHR has been in operation for almost a decade now, fighting for the realisation for human rights in both Sierra Leone and on the international forum.

The Commission usually produces reports on the “State of Human Rights in Sierra Leone,” as provided for in Section 24[1] of the Human Rights Commission Act [No.

9] of 2004.
9] of 2004.

In carrying out its activities, especially in addressing the political, economic, social and cultural rights of people, this Commission requires resources from government and donor partners.

31 In 2015 and 2016 FYs, the Commission received donor funds from the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] to the tune of Le1, 732,213,000 [Le1,000,275,000 in 2015 and Le731,938,000 in 2016].
The Committee also observed that Le 1,388,900,000 and Le 869,567,625 were allocated by the Ministry of Finance for 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, detailed examination of the Commission‟s expenditure patterns revealed that:  the Commission expended Le 882,330,691, slightly above its actual allocation with a deficit of Le 12,783,066;  Le 596, 437,000 of donor fund was utilised in 2016, out of Le 731,938,000.
According to the Vote Controller, the Le 135,501,000 balance was meant to implement certain planned activities like the development of Human Right Commission Website, the International Treaty Board Commission and the International Human Right Day.

Based on the foregoing, the Committee queried the Commission as to why the Ministry of Finance failed to release the actual allocations of Le 1,893,611,900 and Le 1,893,611,900 for 2015 and 2016 respectively.
The Committee agreed with Management that the failure of the Ministry of Finance to release the said sums adversely affected topical public awareness raising issues on juvenile rights to justice in prisons and the periodic monitoring of emergency human rights issues in this country.

Therefore, this Committee recommends that the actual allocated budget to this Commission be always given in full as issues on human right are no fancy in democratic good governance.
406 00 MINISTRY OF ENERGY Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, under the Agenda for Prosperity, this government prioritised energy policy objectives to ensure the provision of modern energy services for increase productivity, wealth creation and improve the quality of life for all Sierra Leoneans.
From all indications, it is undeniable that this policy has begun yielding the required results as evidenced by increased power generation through the 32 comprehensive reform of the power sector, increased liberalisation of the sub-sectors, attracting private sector investments and putting in place effective monitoring mechanisms.
To achieve those, reforms have taken place in the Ministry, followed the repeal of the 1982 National Power Authority [NPA] Act that brought the Electricity Act in 2011, which spells the operations of the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority [EDSA] and the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company [EGTC].

In order to attain a stable and diversified economic growth, energy is key and that is the reason why it demands enough resources from both government and donor agencies.
In 2016 FY, the Ministry of Energy was allocated Le 123,190,000,000; Le 3,190,000,000 for recurrent and Le 120,000,000,000 for development estimates.

However, the Committee discovered that Le 10,679,798,304 [Le 1,563,165,275 for Recurrent and Le 9,116,633,029 for Development], was received by this Ministry.
Furthermore, a critical examination of the filled questionnaire and the PS‟ oral submission to the Committee revealed that most of the projects undertaken by the Ministry were donor sponsored projects got from grants and loans ratified by this House.
This is shown in the table below: Table 1: Grants and Loans received by the Ministry from development Source Electricity Sector Amount [$] partners World Bank ESURP World Bank Energy Access Project $ 40m $ 16m IDB Re-enforcement & distribution of medium and low $ 10m voltage network ECOWAS West Africa Power Pool [WAPP] AfDB Trust Scaling up Renewable Energy Project $ 21.8m $300,000 Fund 33 TOTAL $88,400,000 Source: Filed Questionnaire Questioned on how the said funds were usually disbursed, the PS informed the Committee that those funds were usually managed by various donor representatives and released only after evaluation reports were presented.
When the Committee asked Management to highlight areas where those funds were expended, the PS explained that the funds were expended on the following projects:  upgrading Freetown network;   rural electrification; re-enforcement and distribution of network;  supply of pre-paid meters and cost electrical works;  maintenance and purchase of spare parts for the generators at Kingtom and Black Hall Road; and  supply of fuel and oil amongst others.
The PS explained that the said projects were still on going.

The Committee agreed with the PS, but advised Management to ensure that those funds should be judiciously utilised.
The Committee further observed that;  out of the Le 10,679798,304 received by the Ministry, Le 515,219,460 and Le 143,230,000 were spent on travelling and computer running cost respectively, which the Committee considered as irrational; and  the Barefoot Women Project expected to have expanded to rural women registered a slow pace of development.

However, Management informed the Committee that the project was on track.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee paid special attention on the activities of EDSA, which is now one of the prolific revenue generating entities in the country.

Documents presented to the Committee were silent on the activities of EDSA.
34 When asked to brief the Committee on EDSA‟s revenue generation drive, the PS gave a convoluted explanation that amounted to little more than a weak excuse to dodge the question, stating that EDSA had been privatised; and as a result, EDSA had not been sub-vented by Government.
She intimated the Secretariat on a telephone interview that “the Ministry is only overseeing EDSA‟s operations and not its financial accounts.” The Committee vehemently dismissed the PS‟ argument as untenable, affirming that “institutions like Maritime Administration and the National Telecommunication Commission [NATCOM] that are not sub-vented by Government usually come to Parliament at the end of the financial year to give accounts of their operations.” Further research into the National Electricity Act, 2011 revealed that the PS of the Ministry is a member of Board of Authority.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, having gone through the budget and the documents presented to this Committee, the Committee hereby recommends that:  the Ministry put measures in place to comply with the economic measures in terms of reducing cost on travels and expenditure on computer running cost; and  the Ministry‟s budget for 2017 be approved by this Honourable House.
133 00 MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the responsibilities of the Ministry of Information and Communications are to inform, educate and sensitise citizens on the activities of government.

To achieve these, the Ministry is made up of the following departments:  Attitudinal and Behavioural Change [ABC] Administration;  Office of the Government Spokesman; etc.
The Ministry‟s submission for the 2016 FY was Le 4,500,320,000, but was allocated the sum of Le 2,194,256,000.

However, the Ministry received Le 1,062,228,665; which the Committee observed fell below the 2015 budgetary receipt by 16.8%.

The Committee noted that the expenditure of this Ministry was Le 1,062,228,665.

That has created a zero net balance which the Committee categorised thus:  overseas travels [Le240,053,665]; 35  fuel; [Le 190,000,000]; and  office and general [Le 632,175,000].
Based on the foregoing, the Committee raised serious concerns on the expenditure, especially on travels, and office and general for which the necessary supporting documents, including bank statements and copies of reports on travels, were not presented to the Committee for verification.
The Committee also observed that the Ministry was indebted as was reported last year to the same companies as shown below: [a] Intergroup International [US$ 196 366] for the supply of a 2nd Television Channel to SLBC; and [b] Eutesat [US$ 46,500] annual subscription to Satellite Space.

The 2017 budgetary allocation to this Ministry was Le 2,194,256,000 which registered a deficit of 51.2% in the budget submission of Le 4,500,320,000.
The Vote Controller admitted that the deduction would affect Fibre Optic Networking at districts level, Cyber Security Programmes and payment of foreign debts and overseas travels.

In conclusion, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, this Committee was pleased with the progress made in terms of complying with the Treasury Single Account because of its monthly financial reconciliation with the Accountant-General‟s Department.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that this Ministry be considered for a supplementary budget.

133 04 OFFICE OF THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Office of the Government Spokesman is an appendage to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

It was created in order to provide the public with timely, accurate, clear and complete information about government policies, programmes, services and initiatives.
It was also established to ensure that government institutions are accessible and accountable to the public.

In 2016, this Office was allocated Le 372,130,500 for its activities, but received Le 67,800,000.

That registered 81.8% of the allocation not received.

According to the 36 Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, that reduction adversely affected local travels, outreach programmes and fuel usage.

For 2017 FY, Le 67,800,000 was allocated to this Office.
Though the said amount appears fairly adequate, the Committee recommends that the Ministry of Finance releases the said allocation on time.

405 01 MONUMENT AND RELICS COMMISSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Monument and Relics Commission is the main statutory body responsible for the protection of all cultural heritage sites in Sierra Leone.
This Commission dates as far back as in the 60s, when the Ordinance Act of 1961 was amended in 1967 to give power to the Monument and Relics Commission to acquire, maintain and administer the Sierra Leone Museum at the Lucien Gent Garden.

In 2014, this government, as part of its rebranding process to achieve the agenda for change, reconstituted this Commission in terms of:  developing/identifying a full inventory of cardinal heritage assets.
 restoring proclaimed and potential assets; and  ensuring awareness raising campaign in all communities on the need to disclose and preserve various historical sites.

During cross examination, the Committee noted that in 2015 and 2016 FYs, the Commission received Le 1,741,949,200 and Le 1,306,800,000 respectively.
Examined the expenditure pattern in 2016, the Committee discovered that the said allocations were expended on the following: Table 2: Expenditure Pattern of the Commission for 2015/2016 No Nature of Contract Amount [Le] Status 1 Restoration of selected proclaimed assets at the 219,000,000 Completed Islands 2 3 Restoration of selected proclaimed assets in Freetown 138,953,711 Completed Refurbishment of the Sierra Leone National Museum 139,250,000 Completed 37 4 Rehabilitation Work at the S/L National Railway 218,000,000 On-going Museum 5 Construction of a Perimeter Fence & Refurbishment 184,643,420 Completed old FBC Source: Filed Questionnaire Though the Committee observed that some of those projects were rolled over to the 2016 budget, the Committee however applauded the efforts of the Commission in rebranding the tourism sector in the country.
Questioned on why the Commission had not been able to generate revenue since its reconstitution in 2014, the Chairperson informed the Committee that plans to levy charges on visitors and researchers were on going.

According to the Management team, the Commission intended to manage and market Bounce Island and other cultural heritage sites in order to attract visitors and researchers.
However, the Committee could not get a clear explanation on the oversight responsibility on the Commission by the Cultural Affairs Department in the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.
Based on the above, the Committee recommends that:  the parliamentary Committee on Tourism requests for a status update of the asset registration and challenges for the full engagement of the Finance Committee in Parliament; and  the parliamentary Committee on Tourism embarks on oversight visits to all heritage sites that were said to have been under rehabilitation.
For 2017 FY, Le 1,549,300,000 was allocated to this Commission, which the Committee observed as fairly adequate and therefore recommends for its approval by the House.
108 00 MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the 2017 budget was delivered in this House with the theme “Recovery through Economic Diversification and Fostering Entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone.” In that budget, the Government indicated that 38 though the economy had shown resilience in the face of global economic challenges, yet it has not been accompanied with proportionate employment opportunities because the economic growth remains undiversified.
In Pillar [1] of the Agenda for Prosperity, the government prioritised sectors of economic activities as „engines of inclusive growth‟ such as Agriculture, Manufacturing, Fishing and Tourism.

The tourism and cultural sectors have the potential to rebrand Sierra Leone and even be a driver for inclusive economic growth, as was evidenced in 2011, when tourism annual contribution to the GDP was US$ 37m before the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic.
With the attractions of beaches, nature reserved mountains and islands, and the different cultural heritage sites in the country, Sierra Leoneans could reap more if we overcome the numerous challenges facing the tourism sector.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, a critical examination of the Ministry‟s budgetary provision and performance revealed that:  in 2016 FY, Le 2,265,700,880 was received by the Ministry, out of Le 3,170,560,806 that was allocated.
That reduction registered 28.5% fall in the anticipated amount for 2016;  the total expenditure for 2015 and 2016 was Le 5,113,180,880 [Le 2,847,400,000 for 2015 and Le 2,265,780,880]; and  in both years under review, the Ministry‟s spending was completely negligence on the cultural sector, whilst detailed expenditure on overseas travels, and office and general overshadowed other key areas within the Ministry.
The Ministry could not give any comprehensive report on revenue generated for both 2015 and 2016 FYs, as the Tourist Board of Sierra Leone was responsible for all tourist sites in the country; which according to the Vote Controller, the Ministry only performs supervisory role and develop policies.

Further probing questions revealed that there was no link to tourist and monumental sites, which the Committee noted should be part of the Ministry‟s supervisory role.
39 The 2017 budgetary allocation of Le 3,176,569,600 reported no increase in this Ministry‟s allocation.

Therefore, considering the numerous problems facing the Ministry, the Committee recommends the following:  rebranding and general promotion of tourism cannot go without improved ICT services.
The Ministry should have a Web-page, You Tube and Twitter accounts to showcase the beauty of Sierra Leone to the outside world;  the Ministry should initiate serious supervision on entities responsible for the implementation of the tourism sector‟s strategic objectives and priority activities;  the Ministry should improve on its marketing strategy through aggressive promotional drive [national and international trade fair], cultural competition, both local and international; and  a supplementary budget be considered after assessment by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
DEVOLVED FUNCTIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the 19 Local Councils in Sierra Leone were established by the Local Government Act of 2004.

The aim of resuscitating the local governance structure, after the civil war, was to enhance durable peace, responsive local development and to further enhance the core tenets of democracy which encompasses transparency, accountability, inclusive participation and the rule of law.
In consequence, therefore, Part V of the Local Government Act of 2004 clearly states that “Local Councils shall have Legislative and Executive powers, to be exercised in accordance with the Local Government Act; and shall be responsible generally for promoting the development of the locality and welfare of the people with the resources at its disposal, and with such resources and the capacity it can mobilise from the central government and its agencies, national and international non-governmental organisations and the private sector.” The following Councils were assigned to this Committee for scrutiny: 40 [A] 701 01 MAKENI CITY COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, for 2016 FY, the Makeni City Council was allocated the sum of Le 1,260,395,150, but only received Le 493,487,508.
In addition to the Government‟s regular budget, the Committee further observed that the Council received donor funds to the tune of Le 353,112,025 from RMFA, SALWACO and M.E.Y.S.

Questioned whether the said amount was utilised, the Chief Administrator [CA] informed the Committee that those funds were used to compliment government in such areas as Health, Education, Solid Waste Management and Social Welfare, Gender and Children‟s Affairs.
Further probing questions revealed that Le 1,245,204,485.55 out of a revenue target of Le 1,801,374,694 was collected as revenue from January to September, 2016.

The Committee noted Council‟s commitment in generating revenue for the development of the Council.

The CA revealed that the said amount was raised from local and property taxes, business licenses, grants, donations, fee and charges, etc.
Questioned on why Council had not been able to meet target, the CA said that Makeni City Council had not been able to meet its target due to issues bothering on boundary delimitation, especially in the collection of property rates.

Investigating Council‟s outstanding debt obligation, the Committee was made to understand that Council was indebted to various suppliers to the tune of Le 97,630,234.
The CA however informed the Committee that the said amount would be paid immediately funds are made available to the Council.

For 2017 FY, the Council made a budget submission of Le 1,324,861,691, in line with its budget ceiling.

The Committee considered that allocation as adequate and therefore recommends for its approval by the House.
[B] 701 01 BOMBALI DISTRICT COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2016 FY, Bombali District Council made a budget submission of Le 10,125,857,146, but only received Le 4,693,700,392.

Further examination of the questionnaire revealed that Council received additional supports to 41 the tune of Le 2,312,340,200 from donors, which was expended on Health, Agriculture, Solid Waste Management, Rural Water, Social Welfare, etc.
Probing into Council‟s own source revenue generated in 2016, the Committee discovered that Le 229,232,012 was generated as revenue.

Comparatively, Council generated more revenue in 2016 than in 2015, for which the Committee applauded Management for their efforts.

However, the Committee encouraged the CA and the Management team to put in place more robust measures that would improve Councils revenue generation.
Moreover, the Committee further learnt that:  there was lack of compliance by Chiefdom Council in paying local tax;  Paramount Chiefs were unwilling to share revenue collected; and  monitoring devolved functions of MDAs.

The Committee advised that robust measures should be taken to increase the Council‟s potential in terms of collecting property rates, royalties, etc.

For 2017 FY, the Council made a budget submission of Le 5,610,690,891, in line with its budget ceiling.
The Committee was satisfied with Council‟s performance in terms of financial management for 2016.

Thus, the Committee recommends that the said allocation be approved by the House.

701 01 KAMBIA DISTRICT COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Kambia District Council is one of the Councils operating under the devolution programme and undertaking specific services such as Health, Education, Agriculture, Social Welfare, Solid Waste Management, etc.
For 2016 FY, Kambia District Council made a budget submission of Le 3,462,034,468, but received Le 1,764,411,393.

According to the CA, that amount was expended on Health, Education, Agriculture, Social Welfare, Solid Waste Management, etc.

Additionally, the Committee observed that Council received Le 947,071,665 as donor fund.
Examining the utilisation of the said donor fund, the Committee found out that the Le 947,071,665 was expended on Social Welfare, Primary Health Care, Waste Management, Education, Agriculture, etc.

42 Probing into the document submitted to this Committee, it was observed that this Council generated the sum of Le 319,617,950, out of a revenue target of Le 700,454,784.
Though the Committee observed an increase in Council‟s revenue generation drive, when compared to the 2015 revenue generated, it was however revealed to this Committee that the reasons for not meeting revenue target in 2016 was due to the fact that:  there was low compliance and inadequate revenue collectors and clerks; and  Council had not introduced the property valuation system, which according to the CA, was one major source of revenue.
When asked to provide suggestions on how to maximise revenue collection for the development of the District, the CA told the Committee that waste collection fees, hawkers license, sand mining fees, contract revenue collectors to minimise leakages and engage Chiefdom Councils on local tax collection strategy would help to increase Council‟s revenue generation base.

The Committee noted the CA‟s suggestion and promised to relay them to the Chairman on Local Government for further consideration.
For 2017 FY, the Council was allocated the sum of Le 3,655,236,980.

The Committee viewed that allocation as fairly adequate and recommends that this Honourable House approves this Council budget.

8.

CONCLUSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all Members of Sub-Appropriation Committee III for their commitment during the financial scrutiny of the various MDAs consigned to this Committee.
I wish to extend my special thanks and profound appreciations to the clerks; Moriba Songa, Musa L. A. Foullah, Rita Sesay and Abdul Rahim Sowe for documenting the findings.
Against this backdrop, Mr Chairman Honourable Members, and without prejudice to the observations and recommendations made therein, I move that the following Vote Heads, including Sub-heads of all the MDAs, [with the exception of Vote Head 140 00 – Mass Media Services which failed to appear before the Committee, stand part of the schedule: 43 Vote Div.
Vote Description Amount [Le] 145 00 Right to Access Information Commission 1,719,238,400 110 09 Independent Media Commission [IMC] 483,034,700 122 00 Immigration Department 140 00 Mass Media Services [SLBC] 4,377,695,900 195,864,000 413 00 S/L Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission 1,026,992,700 415 00 Sierra Leone Maritime Administration 205 01 Ministry of Internal Affairs 124 07 Legal Aid Board 212 00 National Drugs Enforcement Agency 124 05 Justice Sector Coordination Office 100,000 1,018,849,200 4,015,871,000 986,669,100 326,477,100 412 00 National Telecommunication Commission [NATCOM] 100,000 307 00 National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU] 703,061,700 144 00 National Commission for Human Rights 1,893,611,900 406 00 Ministry of Energy 4,146,021,900 133 00 Ministry of Information and Communications 2,194,256,000 133 04 Office of the Government‟s Spokesman 372,130,500 405 01 Monument and Relics Commission 1,549,287,800 108 00 Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs 3,170,569,600 701 01 Bombali District Council 701 01 Makeni City Council 701 01 Kambia District Council Signed by Honourable Benneh Bangura, Chairman.
3,541,174,890 1,324,861,691 3,655,236,980 THE CHAIRMAN: This particular recommendation on Mass Media Services is very important.

I want to know why the Director General of SLBC failed to appear before the Committee.

Again, from what has been reported, it would appear as if this is habitual.

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: Thank you very much, Mr Chairman.

It has been the pattern for Mass Media Services.

44 THE CHAIRMAN: Who is the Director General of SLBC, Honourable Member?

HON.
HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: The Director General is Mr Gbanabom Holloway.

THE CHAIRMAN: If what you said has been the case, it is a contempt of Parliament.

In that context I want you to take it up.

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: The reason behind this is purely because of the fact that they failed to receive their allocations year in year out.

According to them, the allocations are only made on paper.

THE CHAIRMAN: If that has been the case, then they have nothing to account for.

Don‟t you think they are justified?


HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: To me, Mr Chairman, they are justified.

THE CHAIRMAN: They should appear before you and say so.

They did that last year.

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: Mr Chairman, last year‟s allocation was not disbursed to this MDA and it went back to the Ministry of Finance.

THE CHAIRMAN: You have to look into that I would suggest that you engage the Leader of the House on that issue.

HON.
HON.

FRANK KPOSOWA: Can this House benefit from the presence of the Minister of Finance and Economic Development?

Let us know if Government has anytime disbursed money to Mass Media Services.

They are alleging that Government is not giving them funds, but we have the Minister of Finance with us here.

Let us benefit from him.

MR MOMODU KARGBO: The following votes stand part of the schedule.
301 00 Ministry of Education Science and Technology- 125,408,739300 304 00 Ministry of Health and Sanitation- 939036903200 128 00 Ministry of Foreign Affairs- 10965540700 105 00 Ministry of Political and Public Affairs- 1845358900 405 00 SLIEPA- 3422545800 45 110 07 Anti-Corruption Commission- 4604237500 206 00 Sierra Leone Police (SLP)- 87868000000 416 00 Civil Aviation Authority- 1528162500 405 00 National Tourist Board- 4165726400 126 00 Independent Police Complaint Board- 800000000 122 00 HRMO- 2230286100 110 11 PPRC- 3500331800 110 00 National Aids Secretariat- 404 02 Metrological Department- 761520200 701 01 Bo City Council- 1502781108 701 01 Bo District Council- 336931122000 701 00 Pujehun District Council- 3396326574000 110 17 Public Sector Reform Unit- 862291600 107 03 Provincial Secretaries Office East- 1522149600 141 00 Government Printing Department- 2415953100 107 02 Provincial Secretaries Office South- 1572925000 128 01 to 128 21 Embassies and High Commissions all combined- 16,196,496,800 DEVOLVED FUNCTION Social Welfare Gender and Children Affairs Services 2,900,000,700 [Question Proposed] HON.
KOMBA E. KOEDOYOMA: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I present to you the report entitled Sub-Appropriation Committee V. Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Pursuant to Section III, Sub Sections [3 & 4] and Section 112, Sub Section 6 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No.
6 of 1991 46 and Sections 64 [3] and 66 [i] of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Sub- Appropriation Committee Five [5] was charged with the responsibility to review the 2016 budgetary allocation of the MDAs under its purview and consider their FY 2017 Annual Budget Estimates for Parliament‟s consideration and approval.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development [MOFED] presented the Appropriation Bill 2017 [the budget] late, largely based on the fact that the economy is under austerity, aiming to recover from key challenges as a result of the Ebola outbreak, and the fall in the iron ore price at the World Market.
Thus the need for the government to institute austerity measures with the theme:” Recovery through Economic Diversity and Fostering Entrepreneurship.” This is to enhance fiscal sustainability, and to expand the social safety net with increased expenditure and pro poor programmes.

1.

SCOPE OF THE EXERCISE The scope of this exercise is limited to a very thorough and systematic investigation of the allocation made in FY 2016 and proposed budget estimates for Fiscal Year 2017 in the MDAs under its purview.
RECOMMENDED VOTE HEADS FOR MDAs [INCLUDING SUB-HEADS] FOR 2017.

Vote Div.
Vote Description Total Sum Voted [Le] 105 107 107 110 110 110 110 122 126 00 03 02 07 11 00 17 00 00 Ministry of Political and Public Affairs 1,845,358,900 Provincial Secretary‟s Office - East 1,522,149,600 Provincial Secretary‟s Office - South 1,572,925,000 Anti-Corruption Commission 4,604,237,500 Political Party Registration Commission 3,500,331,800 National Aids Secretariat Public Sector Reform Unit 862,291,600 Human Resource Management Office [HRMO] 2,230,286,100 Independent Police Complaints Board 800,000,000 47 128 00 Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International 10,965,540,700 Cooperation 141 206 301 304 404 405 409 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 Government Printing Department Sierra Leone Police 2,415,953,100 87,868,000,000 Ministry of Education, Science & Technology 125,408,739,300 Ministry of Health and Sanitation Meteorological Department National Tourist Board 94,936,903,200 761,520,200 4,165,726,400 Sierra Leone Investment & Export Promotion 3,422,545,800 Agency 416 00 Civil Aviation Authority 1,528,162,500 DIRECT TRANSFER TO LOCAL COUNCILS 701 701 701 01 01 01 Bo City Council Bo District Council Pujehun District Council 1,502,781,108 3,036,931,122 3,396,326,574 3.
PROCEDURE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, during the course of examining the various MDAs under its purview, the Committee followed the traditionally established procedures.

Thus, Members of the Committee posed questions and raised concerns on a wide range of issues relating to capital expenditures, opening bank balances, revenue generation, donations and grants, public debts, procurement procedures in the award of contracts, local and foreign travels, salaries, benefit and other facilities for staff.
Pursuant to S.O.

66 [i] Vote Controllers, senior officials and Accountants were requested to respond to queries relating to their budgetary allocations, opening bank balances, and to also state their challenges.

This was done to determine effective use of financial resources and to ensure service delivery.

48 - - Chairman Deputy Chairman 4.

Membership of the Committee i. ii.

iii.

iv.

v. vi.

Hon.

Komba E. Koedoyoma Hon.

Francis Konuwa Hon.

Helen Kuyembeh Hon.

Francis Kaisamba Hon.


James N.D. Allie Hon.

Martin I. Bangura vii.

Hon.

Abdulai D. Sesay viii.

Hon.

Habib B. Munda ix.

x. xi.

Hon.

Dr Michel Sho-Sawyer Hon.

Ibrahim Kamara Hon.

Umar Paran Tarawally xii.

Hon.

Regina Marah xiii.

Hon.

P.C.

Alie Balansama Marah III xiv.

Hon.

Mohamed Lamin Mansaray xv.

Hon.

Henneh H. Raddar xvi.

Hon.

P.C.

Prince Mambu Pewa xvii.

Hon.

Allieu Baddara Munu xviii.

Hon.

Dr. Aiah Dabundeh xix.

Hon.

Edward Stile Jengo xx.

Hon.


Saidu Mansaray CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE Mohamed Momoh Ngevao – Lead Clerk Kemoh Marah Georgette Forster Osman B. Kokofele 49 5.
OBJECTIVES OF THE EXERCISE Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee probed into the activities of the aforementioned MDAs with the objective of finding out the following:  The MDAs adhered to prudent public financial management regulations as a means of enhancing accountability;  Whether MDAs have initiated preliminary arrangements for the implementation of the Single Treasury Account  How MDAs are committed to their Public Debt obligations  MDAs received their quarterly allocations and how that have affected their operations for FY 2016;  MDAs proposed alignment of operations with the current austerity measures.
6.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in the process of scrutinizing the various MDAs under its purview, the Committee made the following critical observations and recommendations for the attention of this Honourable House.

[i] The Committee observed that the usual late presentation of the, Recurrent and Development Budget to Parliament by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development [MoFED] has been a huge challenge in the entire appropriation process.
The late submission and presentation of the Recurrent and Development estimates has continued to hinder early preparation within the Parliamentary calendar for a thorough and constructive Appropriation process.
[ii] That MoFED should adhere to Section 22 of the Government Budgeting and Accountability Act of 2005 which states that: “The budget shall be laid before Parliament by the Minister not later than two months before the financial year to which it relates.” Early Compilation and presentation of the Budget will enhance the work of Parliament and Parliamentary processes.

50 [iii] The Committee observed that the budget estimates did not capture remittances to Councils.
This exclusion of Council subvention figures also posed a challenge to the Committee work.

The Committee recommends that Council remittances be included in the General Estimates.

[iv] Most MDAs are aware of the Public Financial Management Act 2016 through which the Single Treasury Account is cascaded, and are prepared to implement the Single Treasury Account requirement.

[v] The Committee observed that most MDAs had little or no bank balances.
Hence the Committee recommends that the Appropriation questionnaire must be attached with the Audited Reports of MDAs for onward submission to Parliament.

[vi] The Committee also observed the repeated use of Office and General expenditure budget Head which has remained unexplained.

In the light of this, the Committee recommends a breakdown in all Operational and Administrative expenditure under the heading: Office and General for clarity.
[vii] The Committee observed that the MDAs under its purview have started implementing the Austerity measures through fiscal discipline in the area of fuel consumption, procurement, overseas travelling etc.

[viii] It was observed that most MDAs including the Councils did not receive their last allocations thus adversely affecting the payment of salaries and other operational and administrative expenses.
[ix] It was also observed by the Committee that some MDAs under its purview received donations and gifts from private organizations on behalf of the people of Sierra Leone, without reporting these gifts/donations to Parliament as required by law.

7.

DETAIL OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS.

105 00 MINISTRY OF POLITICAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs is a key component in the governance structure of this country.
This Ministry is charged with 51 the onerous tasks of highlighting pertinent political issue to the citizenry base on government policies and strategies.

It serves as liaison between the political authorities and the citizenry.

This Ministry falls under Pillar [7] - Governance and Public Sector Reform of the Agenda for Prosperity.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, there are two departments under this Ministry namely; Office of the Diaspora Affairs and African Peer Review Mechanism [APRM].
In 2016 fiscal year, the Ministry submitted a budget inclusive of its affiliate departments, in the sum of Le1, 203,000,000 and with a budget ceiling of the same amount.

The actual amount received was Le 343,350,000, with a remaining amount of Le 421,900,000 yet to be received as indicated by the Vote Controller.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs was a beneficiary of additional budget for the 2016 fiscal year in the sum of Le 123,198,450 and also benefitted from a donation of Le 250,000,00 from NATCOM.

The actual expenditure for this Ministry for the 2016 fiscal year is Le 515,250,000, whilst the budget submitted for the 2017 fiscal year is Le 1,021,700,000, with the same figure as it ceiling for 2017.
Responding to questions pertaining to donations and the additional budget, the Permanent Secretary told the Committee that the funds were expended on outreach programmes and operational cost of the Ministry and its Component departments.

The Committee noted that during the Sub-Appropriation Committee hearings, individual presentations were made by both the Ministry, and the two Departments.
But to the dismay of the Committee, individual budgetary heads were not voted in for the 2017 Appropriation Bill, namely: the Office of the Diaspora Affairs, and the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the above notwithstanding the Committee recommends that the House approves the budget submitted by the Ministry for 2017 FY.
52 107 03 PROVINCIAL SECRETARY‟S OFFICE EASTERN REGION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Provincial Secretary‟s Office Eastern Region is part of the administrative apparatus of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members based on the submission, the Committee observed that, this Office received only first and second quarter allocations for the fiscal year 2015 which amounts to Le 1,367,100,000, but has not received any amount since January to date for the 2016 fiscal year, in the sum of Le 1,063,200,000 and with the same figure as its ceiling.

The budget submitted for 2017 fiscal year is Le 1,522,300,000 also with the same figure as it ceiling.
This huge financial challenge has adversely affected the operations of this Office, especially operational Cost and payment of Contractors to which this Office is seriously indebted.

Based on the above submission, the Committee recommends that the backlog payments for 2015 and 2016 to the Provincial Secretary‟s Office‟s Eastern Region be effected soonest to ensure a smooth and effective administrative process.
107 02 PROVINCIAL SECRETARY‟S OFFICE SOUTHERN REGION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Provincial Secretary‟s Office Southern Region did not make a submission nor a representation to the Committee either.

Therefore, the Committee has no alternative but suggest withholding of the budget for this Office for the 2017 fiscal year, until an appropriate administrative action is determined by Parliament.

110 07 ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION.


Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] was established by the Anti- Corruption Act, 2000, primarily to investigate alleged instances of corruption and to prevent corrupt practices.

For 2016 Fiscal Year, the Anti-Corruption Commission made a budgetary submission of Le 41,920,960,000 of which Staff Cost was Le 30,566,960,000 other recurrent Cost was Le 5,692,200,000 and Development Expenditure Le 5, 661,800,000.
However, in excess of its budget 53 ceiling, the ACC was allocated Le 32, 072, 556, 143 which included donor support to the tune of Le 508,281,194.

The Commission actually received a sum of Le 26,075,307,389 from Regular budget, Donors, Bank interest received, Sale of bid documents, Sale of Board Vehicles and Recovery of funds.

The Committee observed that donor funds were utilized for monitoring the implementation of the Social Safety Net Projects, and support to the Pay No Bribe Campaign.
The Committee also noted from documentary evidence that ACC is complying with the implementation of both the Treasury Single Account regulation and the Austerity measures.

For 2017 Fiscal Year, the Anti-Corruption Commission made a submission of Le 45,857,410,000 for staff cost, recurrent expenditure and Capital/Development expenditure respectively.
Giving a total allocation of Le 41, 070, 080,000 including the Recurrent Expenditure of Le 4,604,237,500 as voted under the column Sum Total Voted with Gap in the Appropriation Bill, 2017; which was considered inadequate by the Vote controller.

The reduction in the said allocation, he said would affect the completion of the Head Office Building, administrative and operational activities and acquisition/ replacement of obsolete equipment and vehicles.
In view of the above, the Committee recommends that the ACC be considered for a supplementary budget allocation.

110 11 POLITICAL PARTIES REGISTRATION COMMISSION.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Political Parties Registration Commission made an original budget submission of Le 3,673,465,121 for 2016 fiscal year, with an existing budget ceiling of Le 8,700,200,000, whilst the actual allocation for 2016 fiscal year was Le 1,500,300,001.
Donor funding subscribed to the Commission was Le 112,542,000, which was utilized for the payment of rents for regional Offices.
The Commission received from the regular budget for Fiscal Year 2016 the sum of Le 750,200,000, whilst for 2017 fiscal year; the Commission made an original budget 54 submission of Le 8,089,400,000 and was given an actual allocation of Le 3,500,331,800 However, the Committee observed that the Commission generates revenue from payment for registration by political parties over the period, namely; the Alliance Democratic Party and National Progressive Democratic Party.
Mr. Chairman, Hon Members, based on the above submission by the Commission, the Committee duly recommends the approval of the PPRC 2017 budget to enhance its Operational and Constitutional Mandate.

110 00 National HIV & AIDS Secretariat.

The National HIV/AIDS Secretariat was established by an act of Parliament in 2002 and located in the Office of the President to coordinate a multi-sectorial effort to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and mitigate its impact in Sierra Leone.
The National HIV/AIDS Secretariat is geared towards providing leadership in coordinating HIV/AIDS programs and activities of all stakeholders in Sierra Leone, by developing, implementing and coordinating an effective strategic plan that addresses the prevention, treatment, care and the preservation of human right.
The Secretariat undertakes the following functions:  Guide policy formulation and establishment of programme priorities  Take the lead in national planning and monitoring  Spearhead advocacy for HIV/AIDS activities  Identify and address obstacles to the national response  Mobilize and monitor resource allocation and utilization  Foster linkages among partners  Provide guidelines and technical assistance for implementation  Gather and disseminate information  Promote HIV/AIDS related research Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National HIV & Aids Secretariat submitted a budget of Le 4.024Billion, with a budget ceiling of Le 4.0 Billion.
The actual 55 allocation for the 2016 fiscal Year for the Secretariat is Le 500,300,000, as subsidy from the Government of Sierra Leone.

The HIV & Aids Secretariat Budget Submission and Projection for the Fiscal Year 2017 is Le 1,985 Billion, with an existing ceiling of Le 2.0Billion.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Secretariat also attracted Donor funding and Support, which included the following;  KFW = Euro 535,258.32  UNFPA= Le 173,987,500 These donor funding were utilized for the implementation of HIV/AIDS activities for 2016.

For 2017 FY the Committee however observed with dismay the non-inclusion of the HIV & AIDS Secretariat in the Appropriation Bill 2017.

Based on the above submission by the HIV & Aids Secretariat, the Committee duly recommends approval of the budget.
110 17 PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS UNIT Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, The purpose of the Public Sector Reform Programme is to re-engineer, capacitate and re-vamp our Public Service institutions and workforce for increased service delivery.

The Programme aims to transform the Public Service [including the Civil Service] to deliver relevant services in an equitable, efficient and cost effective way.
This Programme is owned, coordinated and led by the Government of Sierra Leone through the PSRU [Public Sector Reform Unit], in the Office of the President which was established to provide strategic leadership and co-ordination of reforms geared towards a performance-oriented Public sector, as outlined in the Agenda for Prosperity [Pillar 7].
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Public Sector Reform Unit submitted a budget of Le965,475,000 for the fiscal year 2016 to the Ministry of Finance, with a ceiling of Le 965,300,000.

The allocation for this Unit in 2016 fiscal year was Le 560,460,000.

The actual Amount received by the Unit for the fiscal year 2016 was Le 1,072,714,000.

This Unit also attracted Donor funding, and became a beneficiary of 56 Le 3,025,319,431 through the Pay and Performance project [P&PP] courtesy of World Bank.
These Donor funds were utilized for Training and Capacity Building through the Technical Assistance Component of the P&PP.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the total expenditure of the Public Sector Reform Unit for the Fiscal Year 2016 is Le 589,271,848.

Whilst the Budget projection and submission for fiscal year 2017 stands at Le 881,000,000, with the same figure as its ceiling limit.
Based on the above submission by the Public Sector Reform Unit, the Committee duly recommends an endorsement of the Budget projection and submission by this House.

122 00 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE.

Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, The Human Resources Management Office falls under pillar 7 of the Agenda for prosperity, which has to do with governance and Public Sector Reforms.
The strategic objective of reforming the public sector under the Agenda for Prosperity focuses on the following strategic plans for Fiscal Year 2016 – 17.
 Recruitment and Right-sizing the Civil Service to deliver core functions of the state;  To attract and retain competent skills by implementing the multi-year pay reform and sound payroll management;  To ensure that public sector institutions have the right structure, systems and processes to deliver quality services and  To improve performance and productivity of MDAs and individuals public servants in order to strengthen accountability and increase citizens‟ trust and confidence in government.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members the budget submission for this Department for Fiscal year 2016 was Le 1,601,400,000, with a budget ceiling of the same amount.

It was observed that the office received the actual sum of Le 1,500,000,000 from the Government regular budget, whilst donor funding received was Le 11,292,381,094.91 from the European Union Delegation, and a sum of Le 57 822,953,189.04 was subscribed as government‟s Subscription to the European Union project.
The Committee observed that, these funds were utilized on training and capacity building, succession planning and staff development, office equipment, investment costs, right sizing the Civil Service, Institutional support operating cost etc.

However, the Committee observes with dismay that HRMO has not been keeping financial documents properly.

Thus the Committee recommends that the HRMO improves on its reporting on financial records especially on the utilization of donor funds.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the HRMO submitted a budget projection of Le 2,278,800,000 for Fiscal Year 2017.

The Committee observed that Le 1,230,300,000 was allocated for Fiscal Year 2016.

According to the Vote Controller, the decrease of Le 48,500,000 would affect their general administration and operating cost.

The Committee therefore recommends that the sum voted for it under the 2017 budget be approved.
126 00 INDEPENDENT POLICE COMPLAINTS BOARD [IPCB] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members the Independent Police Complaints Board is a non- departmental public body established under Section 158 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone [Act No.

6 of 1991].

The IPCB exists to ensure that the Sierra Leone Police Force is responsive to its role and functions The IPCB receives and investigates complaints of a serious nature, and thereby increases the public‟s confidence in policing.
It is intended to act as an oversight and investigative body with a national scope and responsibility.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in reviewing the IPCB budget for 2016, the Committee observed that the Board made a budgetary submission of Le 943,586,727.

With no ceiling and supplementary budget the Board received a sum of Le 630, 861,519 for the 2016 fiscal year.
In addition, the Board was supported with a sum of Le 79, 840, 596 from a Joint Access to Security and Justice Programme [ASJP] and UNDP Project on Focus group engagements in 12 districts and official opening of the IPCB Office and validation of the Focus Group Engagement report.

58 For FY 2017, the Board made a budgetary submission of Le1, 288, 392, 920 and the sum of Le 800,000, 000 was actually allocated to them as their GoSL regular budget.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, with commitment made by the Board in compliance with the Single Treasure Account and also implementing the austerity measures, the Committee recommends for supplementary allocation during the course of the Fiscal year.

128 00 MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation is the principal advisory agency on matters relating to the formulation and implementation of the foreign policy objectives of the country.

The Ministry is committed to the pursuit of national interests as well as the welfare of the people at sub-regional, regional and global levels and, with its international and development partners, for the consolidation of global peace and security.
The Ministry is also dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of democratic values and legitimacy in global governance at the social, political and economic levels Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation made a holistic budget submission of Le 62.12 Billion for the fiscal year 2016, with an existing budget ceiling of Le40.69 Billion.
The actual amount received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Fiscal Year 2016 stands at Le 20.04 Billion with a supplementary Budget of Le 5.96 Billion.

The actual allocation for the Ministry is Le 24.2Billion.

The Donor funding status for this Ministry stands at Le 325,000,000 which was utilized for Administrative and Operational Cost.
The actual expenditure for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the fiscal year 2016 is Le 26.2Billion.The current budget projection and submission for 2017 is Le 41.29 Billion.

It is also evident from the submission made to the Committee that the Ministry has implemented a host of fiscal disciplinary measures in reducing waste and high expenditure, key to this is the reduction in the quantity of fuel supply to entitled 59 Officers and the simultaneous cut down in the imprest amount.
Based on the above submission, the Committee recommends that the Budget submitted for 2017 be endorsed by this Parliament.

141 00 GOVERNMENT PRINTING DEPARTMENT Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, for the fiscal year 2016, Government Printing Department submitted a budget to the tune of Le 2, 705, 600,000 but received and expended an amount totalling Le2, 227,285,930,000 as its regular budget.
For Fiscal Year 2017, the Department submitted an original budget of Le 2, 468,500,000.00 to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development but Le 2, 415,953,100 was actually allocated to them.
The Committee observed that there was a decrease to the Department‟s original 2017 budget submission to the tune of Le 52,546,900 which would eventually affect areas such as procurement of materials for printing bond and bank papers and spare parts to replace those worn-out parts so as to prolong their effective working life and improve print quality.

The Department projected a revenue target of Le1, 000,000,000.00 for 2016 FY from printing and sale of Stationery and sale of Government Publications.
The sum of Le 55,322,000 collected as revenue by the Department for the year under review falls far below its target as a result of:  Prioritization of procurement for materials for Gazette publications, Legislative publications, Presidential Speeches and other important Government publications;  The outbreak of the Ebola Virus; and  Cut down of revenue related activities due to the inadequacy of the 2016 FY allocation and materials to embark on such activities.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Department projected a revenue target of Le100, 000,000 for FY 2017.The Vote controller recommends a Web site to enable Gazette subscribers to down load publications for a fee, rather than posting publications to their respective addresses and secondly all MDAs should ensure that al printing jobs are done by the Government Printing Department as stated by Cabinet conclusion.
60 In view of the above the Committee recommends that the Government Printing Department Budget submission for 2017 be approved.

206 00 SIERRA LEONE POLICE.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the mandate of the Sierra Leone Police includes:  the maintenance of law and order;  protection of lives and property;  the detection and prevention of crimes and apprehension of offenders;  enforcement of the law; and  the prosecution of minor offences.
Mr Chairman, the Sierra Leone Police submitted a budget of Le 244,901,510,519, with a recurrent expenditure ceiling limit of Le 68,819,000,000 allocation for 2016 was Le 72,590,030,600.

The actual amount received by the Sierra Leone Police for 2016 was Le 55,489,065,300, which was the actual expenditure for the 2016 Fiscal Year .With regards donor funding; the Sierra Leone Police did not record any for 2016 fiscal year.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in order to effectively carry out its Constitutional responsibility for the 2017 Fiscal Year, the Sierra Leone Police made a budget submission and projection as follows:  Recurrent Budget Projection= Le 87,868,000,000  Development Budget Projection= Le 4,300,000,000 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee noted that the SLP does generate some funding from some of its activities.
The Committee recognizes the enormous security responsibilities the SLP faces everyday which has cost implications which the MOFED would not meet immediately.

In view of this the Committee recommends that the SLP retains this income in full to meet those unforeseen security challenges.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, based on the above submission, the Committee hereby recommends an endorsement of the Sierra Leone Police budget submission for the fiscal Year 2017.
61 301 00 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Education is very crucial in the Government human development drive.

It made a budget submission of Le 342, 508,087,741.00 to the Ministry of Finance for 2016, with a budget ceiling of Le 240,582, 400, 000.

However, the allocation to the Ministry for 2016 fiscal year was Le 162, 059, 352, 880.
The actual amount received from the Government of Sierra Leone Regular Budget for 2016 was Le 244,054,759, 280, whilst Donor funding primarily from UNICEF for 2016 stood at Le 9.1bn.

However, the Committee noted with grave Concern the existing domestic debts incurred by the Ministry for 2015 and 2016 fiscal years.
The Holistic domestic debt situation for this Ministry is as follows; Nature of Contract: Construction of Hand Dug wells Total Cost of Contract: Le 15, 480,862 425.60 30% Advanced Payment: Le 4,385,821,650 Balance to be paid: 10, 233,583,850.00 The capital expenditure for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology from January 2016 to Date is Le 241,991,541,820 that accounts for 89.10% of the expected allocation from the GOSL Regular Budget Allocation, with a variance of Le 29,595,444,180.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, regular budgetary allocation from the Government of Sierra Leone to the Ministry of Education, would positively impact the following Programs to be implemented by the Ministry.
They include the following;  National School feeding Program  Monitoring and Supervision of School feeding Program  Subvention to Tertiary Institutions 62 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in view of the above, the Committee recommends that the budget submitted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the 2017 fiscal year in the region of Le 389,807,600,000 be approved.
304 00 MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SANITATION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation is the government institution charged with the responsibility of addressing health related matters in the country, and also formulate health policies that positively impact the lives of Sierra Leoneans.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation made a budget submission of Le 112,499,355,234 for the fiscal year 2016, with a budget ceiling of Le 109,487,900,000.
The actual allocation for the Health Ministry in 2016 fiscal Year was Le 91,855,760,400, whilst the amount actually received for 2016 was Le 115,796,268,653.

The total expenditure of the Ministry was Le 115,796,268,653 excluding Non-cash items.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee also noted the ongoing implementation of several donor sponsored projects by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
These include:  Construction of a University Hospital Complex in the Western Area  Construction of Oxygen factory in Kerry Town.

 Rehabilitation of BEmoNC Centres in Kambia, Bonthe, Bo, Moyamba and Kailahun.

 Construction of Youth Friendly Centres in the Western Area, Makeni and Bo etc.

The donors for these projects are UNFPA, Kuwaiti Fund, the World Bank and UNICEF.
The Committee also notes with concern the huge overhead expenditure on foreign travel, with no constructive reporting strategy to Government and even Parliament on the outcome of such International Conferences; hence value for Money is in question.

The budget projection and submission for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for the fiscal year 2017 is Le 93,853,600,000.
The Committee duly recommends that the Ministry Of Health and Sanitation be funded from the regular Budget by the Government of Sierra Leone for the fiscal year 2017.

63 404 02 METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Sierra Leone Metrological Department is an offshoot of the British West African Metrological Service, established on the 27th April, 1961.
As a Department under the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, it is responsible to:  ensure safety and wellbeing of the citizens against severe weather situation and devastation from natural disaster;  provide reliable climate data to facilitate project designed for agricultural planning and implementation, water supply system, infrastructure, tourism, etc.

; and  contribute to the socio-economic [including end user services for agriculture, marine, aviation, etc.]

development of the country.


In 2016 FY, this Department submitted an original budget to the tune of Le 1, 054,594,500 to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development but received and expended an amount totalling Le 761,520,000 as its Regular budget.

This decrease, the Committee was informed, adversely affected the following;  the rehabilitation of some weather stations devastated by the civil war.
 procurement and maintenance of crucial telecommunication equipment and weather observation instruments.

The amount received was mainly expended on local travel, upgrading the office of this Department and its general running cost.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members in spite of the skeletal technical staff situation, and very few weather stations in the country, the Department provided quality services in the following areas:  Aviation Metrological Service at the Lungi International Airport, for both domestic and International terminals; and  provision of data and services for Agriculture, Marine, tourism, media, etc.
Mr Chairman, Hon Members, whilst examining the challenges of this Sector, the Committee noted that: 64  this Department, under the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, was operating on a restrictive budget, with a thin technical staff and out dated weather logistics;  the Department is still squeezed in the same colonial building at Charlotte Street, amidst noisy environment;  this Department is supposed to raise revenue, but does not receive anything in return for its services, either in the form of logistics or incentives to committed staff;  the mobility of the technical staff and even the Directorate, remained a challenge in this Department.
 This Department has also incurred outstanding foreign debt obligation In this regard, and considering the vital role this Department plays in linking Sierra Leone to the global climatic network, the Committee recommends that a supplementary budget provision be made to enable this Department fulfil its responsibilities and also offset its foreign debts obligations.

405 00 MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS [NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD].
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the National Tourist Board of Sierra Leone was set up as a Semi-Autonomous Body through the enactment of the Tourism Development Act, 1990.
The Board is therefore charged with responsibilities such as the implementation of Government Tourism policies, developing and promoting sustainable Tourism, facilitating private investment in the Tourism industry, classification, and registration and licensing of all Tourist i.e., Establishments and identification and Development of Tourism products in Sierra Leone.

In FY 2016, the Board made a submission of Le 4, 045,115,000, with a celling of Le 2,638, 200,000.
It received an actual allocation of Le 1, 986, 193, 000 from both Recurrent and Development expenditures.

In addition, the sum of Le 4, 165, 700,000 to meet operational cost and Tourism development.

Mr. Chairman, Hon.
Mr. Chairman, Hon.

Members, the Committee observed that the Board received counterpart funding to the tune of Le 494, 270, 000 which was used to support the 65 Sustainable Development and Promotion Project under the Enhanced Integrated Framework Tier 2 [EIF] The objective of this project is to create an enabling environment for sustainable growth of the Tourism Sector thereby rebranding the image of the country, creating jobs, conserving the environment and reducing poverty.
Revenue generated by the Board through Licenses and Registration Fees in FY 2016 amounted to Le 368, 770,000 out of a targeted revenue of Le 2, 804,000,000.

The major reason for not meeting the revenue target set by the Board was due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in 2014/ 2015 which adversely affected the tourism Hospitality sector.
According to the Vote controller, most hotels, guest houses and entertainment facilities were closed down and as a result, many Touristic Establishments could not meet their obligations.

The Board however assured the Committee that it will generate revenue in FY 2017 to the tune of Le 2,804,000,000 through the introduction of various levies such as landing fees.
For Fiscal Year 2017, the Board submitted a budget of Le 4,165,726,400 but a sum of Le 4,000,000,000 was actually allocated to them by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
To achieve its strategic vision of developing and promoting sustainable and responsible Tourism in Sierra Leone that will foster viable economic growth in the next three years, the Board intends to undertake the following:  Designing Lumley Aberdeen Beach Development Master Plan with a view to revisiting the modus operandi of development to enhance the use of private and public partnership [PPP] arrangement that will address effectively infrastructural gaps;  Lumley Aberdeen Beach Cleaning and Seaweed cleaning along Peninsula Beaches; and  Regeneration of the Aberdeen Creek Mangrove Swamp [Ramsar Site].
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, considering the action plan designed by the Board for post Ebola image re-branding campaign at national level, the Committee considers their budgetary allocation for 2017 as inadequate, and therefore would recommend that the Board be considered for a supplementary budget 66 409 00 SIERRA LEONE INVESTMENT AND EXPORT PROMOTION AGENCY [SLIEPA].
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in 2004, the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency [SLIEPA] was created by an Act of Parliament in 2007.

Its key functions include:  Facilitation and promotion of investment incentives to potential investors.

 Provision of information to potential investors on matters relating to investment.

 Assist potential investors in identifying joint venture partners in Sierra Leone.

 To develop relationship between public and private sector to enhance growth.
 Facilitate registration of business enterprise and assist investors in obtaining permit and licenses, certificate or clearance needed for the commencement of business [like a “one –stop Centre].

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, For the FY 2016, the Agency‟s budget submission to the MoFED was Le3, 500,000,000 with a budget ceiling of Le 2, 484,000,000.

The agency actually received in total the sum of Le 3, 008,900,000 from the government regular budget allocation.
The Agency in addition received the following donor funding:  Common Wealth Euro – Le 61, 263,360  Nestrabv/ Rotterdam - Le 28, 371, 100 The donor funds according to the Chief Executive Officer were used for „Packaging Launch Project and Logistics training to strengthen the capacity of SLIEPA in promoting investments, develop private sectors and increase export.

In the FY 2017, the Agency made a budget submission of Le4, 216,580,400 with a budget ceiling of Le 4,110,000,000.
The Vote allocated is Le 3, 422, 545,800.

The Agency for FY 2017 budgetary allocation realized an increase which the Agency assured the Committee of increasing activities for all departments and also meet its debt obligations.

The Agency further assured Members that modalities are in place to start operating the TSA system for the FY 2017.
67 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee was concerned with the Agency‟s outstanding debt obligations and strongly recommends for amendment of the SLIEPA Act to give it mandate to charge investors for their services.
416 00 SIERRA LEONE CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY [SLCAA] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, For the Fiscal Year 2016, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority made a budgetary submission of Le 19,581,493,266.32, but received and expended the sum of Le 7,287,409,730 as its regular budget for salaries and operational cost respectively.

In line with evidence presented to this Committee, it was observed that this Office received no donor funding.
For 2017 Fiscal Year, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority made a budgetary submission of Le 19,075,219,949.28.

This submission was critically reviewed by the Ministry of Finance which decided to provide them with Le 1,528,162,500 as budgetary allocation for the 2017 fiscal year excluding salary grant.
The Committee observed that, for the fiscal year under consideration, the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority‟s outstanding domestic and foreign debt obligations amounted to the tune of Le 2,760,020,190.

This domestic debt, according to the vote controller, was incurred as a result of accumulated rent, fees to contractors, utilities and stationeries.
The foreign debt, on the other hand, was as a result of accumulated contributions towards their membership to international associations like ICAO, AFCAC, BAGASOO, BAG, etc.

The Vote Controller proposed a Debt Repayment plan as follows:  Financial autonomy as specified by the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority Act, 2008  Government to accept liability of outstanding obligations and  Review PTT Format in both application and collection.
Revenue target for 2016 Fiscal Year was estimated at Le 19,581,493,266.32.

But the SLCAA was unable to meet its targets in revenue collection due largely to the under-mentioned factors:  Failure to allow SLCAA to collect FTT.

68  MoFED not remitting SLCAA‟s share of FTT.

 The SLCAA Act 2008 is in conflict with other Acts such as the NRA Act of 2000 and the Airport Authority Act 1988 over the collection of Revenue.
To maximise revenue in 2017, SLCAA recommended the following:  Urgent approval of proposal to change FTT charging formula;  Timely ratification and implementation of the SLAA regulations;  Authority to allow SLCAA to collect FTT charges;  Complete payment to SLAA, shares of airport charges by SLAA;  Imposition of aviation safety charges to all departing passengers at the SLAA; and  Payment of royalties charter/non schedule commercial flights.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee also observed that the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority is complying with the implementation of the Treasury Single Account and the Austerity Measures by cancelling most of overseas travels and reduction of fuel allocations to Management Staff.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, from the foregone analysis, it is crystal clear that the 2017 budgetary allocation to the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority is inadequate to enable the office function effectively and also meet its debt obligations.

Therefore, the Committee recommends a supplementary budgetary allocation to this Office [SLCAA] during the course of the financial year.
701 01 BO CITY COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Bo City Council for the Fiscal Year 2016 made a budgetary submission to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to the amount of Le6, 126,734,121, with a budget ceiling of Le 4,227,254,626.
The total amount received as transfers was as follows: Total Transfers Received for FY 2016 Grand Total GoSL 2015 Roll over to 2016 DSDP Le 730,346,339 Le 416, 445,303 Le 321,813,606 69 RCHP RMFA TOTAL Le 140,626, 000 Le 420, 737, 915 Le 2, 271, 239, 333 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Bo City Council received the above stated donor funding from World Bank for the following projects: Decentralised Service Delivery Programme [DSDP] - Solid Waste Management, Rehabilitation of health structures, Educational structures, fuel and maintenance of vehicles and bikes and Social Welfare and Gender activities.
Reproductive Child Health Programme [RCHP] - Fuel and lubricants for Ambulance and training of Nurses and other health staff For 2017 Financial Year, Bo City Council made a submission of Le4, 101,981,108.

The Bo City Council had a budget reduction from the original submitted to MoFED.

The decrease, according to the Council did affect all Sectors as the 3rd and 4th quarter funds were yet to be transferred.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, like other revenue generating entities, this Council made a revenue projection of Le 1,899,479,495 for 2016 Fiscal Year, but the projected revenue was not met as actual revenue collected was Le 1,053,863,761 It was unable to meet its revenue target because of the following reasons;  Negative attitude of people towards tax  Boundary delimitation between City Council and District Council poses a very serious challenge.
Donor Funding Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, donor funding received by the Council within the period was geared towards specific programs implementation, as follows;  Decentralised Service Delivery Program DSDP = Le 321,813,606  Reproductive Child Health Program RCHP = Le 140,626,000 70 These funds were utilized in addressing the following;  Solid Waste Management  Rehabilitation of Health Structures  Fuel and Maintenance of Vehicles and Bikes  Social Welfare and Gender Activities  Training for Nurses and Health Staff Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee is of the view that vigorous financial discipline should be instituted in order to improve service delivery by the councils nationwide.
Though Bo City Council has been trying to improve service delivery yet the challenges are enormous especially in revenue collection and expenditure.

701 01 BO DISTRICT COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, Bo District Council is the largest of the four Administrative Districts in the Southern Region.

The Council, with its devolved functions made a budget submission to the MoFED in the sum of Le 5,786,981,694 for the 2016 fiscal year.
But the actual amount received for 2016 fiscal Year was Le 3,505,264,678.25.

The Budget Projection submitted for the fiscal Year 2017 is Le 3,736,956,122 with concurrent ceiling Limit of Le 3,036,931,122.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, donor funding for the 2016 fiscal year as indicated by the vote Controller stands at Le 2,166,041,288.
These funds were principally utilized in the following thematic areas:  Health [DSDP]  Education  Water Services  Social Welfare  Solid Waste  Health [RCHP] Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Council was unable to meet its revenue target because of the following reasons – 71  Inadequate Capacity for revenue Collection – Personnel and Logistics etc.
 Lack of adequate Sensitisation  Revenue collection and sharing among Chiefdom Administrations, Council and District Office Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee insists that vigorous financial and administrative measures should be instituted in order to improve service delivery by the councils nationwide.

Though Bo District council has been trying to improve service delivery, the challenges are equally enormous, especially in revenue collection and expenditure.
Based on the submission and projection for the fiscal year 2017, the Committee duly recommends that this be approved by the House.

701 01 PUJEHUN DISTRICT COUNCIL Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, for 2016 Financial Year, the Pujehun District Council with its devolved functions, made a submission to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in the sum of Le 8,845,461,902.48.

A budget ceiling of Le 8,058, 661,902.48 was given.
But the actual amount allocated and received from Government and Donor was as follows: QUARTER 1 & 2 GoSL – Le 1,259,535,000.00 DSDP II Le 825,168,422 RCHP Le 275,927,504.00 Total Le 2,360,630,926.00 According to the Chief Administrator, this amount was expended on activities relating to the various sectors such as Education, Health, Solid Waste, Rural Water and Social Welfare, Agriculture and Support to Ward Committees.
Mr. Chairman, Honourable Members, for FY 2017, the Pujehun District Council made a budget submission of Le 4, 613, 674, 074.

The Council received a ceiling and actual allocation of Le 3, 396, 326, 574.

The Council made a revenue projection of Le1, 047,035,397.10 but revenue generated was Le 395,805,640 for 2016 fiscal year.
Probing further as to the reason why the Council did not meet its revenue target, the 72 Council explained that it was unable to meet its revenue target because of the following reasons:  Tax evasion by property owners  Inadequate mobility to reach difficult areas  The unwillingness of Paramount Chiefs to share revenue collected in their Chiefdoms with Council  Revenue leakages  Political Will to expedite Court actions for defaulters  Inadequate sensitization The Council further disclosed that its projected revenue target for FY 2017 was Le 784, 500,000 and also suggested the following to maximize revenue collection to reduce waste:  Establishment of a Revenue Data Base  Recruitment of more Revenue collectors at Chiefdom Levels  Levy of penalties for revenue defaulters   Enforcement of the laws on revenue collection and Increased community sensitisation Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Committee is of the view that vigorous financial and administrative discipline should be instituted in order to improve service delivery by the Pujehun District Councils.
On this basis the Committee recommends that the Pujehun District Council 2017 budget request be approved.

CONCLUSION Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, with your leave, I want to express my appreciation to the Hon.

Members of the Committee for their relentless support and contributions in the sittings for long hours, Clerical staff that were always in attendance, starting from the Lead Clerk Mohamed Momoh Ngevao, Kemoh Marah, Osman Kokofele and Georgette Forster.
73 Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, with your leave I move that the under-mentioned Vote Heads for the 2017 fiscal Year and the recommendations contained therein be approved by this House and that the Budget Heads including Sub Heads of MDAs listed below stand part of the schedule in respect of budgetary provisions for Fiscal year 2017.

RECOMMENDED VOTE HEADS FOR MDAs [INCLUDING SUB-HEADS] FOR 2017.

Vote Div.
Vote Description Sum Voted [Le] Ministry of Political and Public Affairs 1,845,358,900 Provincial Secretary‟s Office - East 1,522,149,600 Provincial Secretary‟s Office - South 1,572,925,000 Anti-Corruption Commission 4,604,237,500 Political Party Registration Commission 3,500,331,800 National Aids Secretariat Public Sector Reform Unit 862,291,600 Human Resource Management Office 2,230,286,100 [HRMO] Independent Police Complaints Board 800,000,000 Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International 10,965,540,700 Cooperation Government Printing Department 2,415,953,100 Sierra Leone Police 87,868,000,000 Ministry of Education, Science & Technology 125,408,739,300 Ministry of Health and Sanitation 94,936,903,200 Meteorological Department National Tourist Board 761,520,200 4,165,726,400 Sierra Leone Investment & Export 3,422,545,800 Promotion Agency 416 00 Civil Aviation Authority 1,528,162,500 74 DIRECT TRANSFER TO LOCAL COUNCILS 701 701 701 01 01 01 Bo City Council Bo District Council Pujehun District Council 1,502,781,108 3,036,931,122 3,396,326,574 Signed by Honourable Komba E. Koedoyoma, Chairman Sub-Appropriation Committee V. THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Members, the proceedings for the Committees III and V are now open for debates.
HON.

MUSTAPHA M. BRAIMA: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I am looking at the Mass Media Services of Committee III.

Let us look at Page 9 of the Report.

I am getting a little concerned about the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation in relations to what has been stated in this Report.

THE CHAIRMAN: What page, Honourable Member?

HON.

MUSTAPHA M. BRAIMA: Mr Chairman, Page 9 of Committee III.
It says: “For 2017 financial year, Mass Media Services was allocated the sum of Le 195,864,000 the same allocation made for 2016.

Mr Chairman, Hon.
Members, during a telephone interview with the Director-General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation, he told the Committee‟s Secretariat that he would not appear before the Parliamentary Committee, stating that since the transformation of that institution into a Corporation, Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation had not received any allocation from government.” The second paragraph says: “In last year‟s Appropriation Report, the same sub- Appropriation Committee recommended that the Parliamentary Committees on Finance and Information look into the issue and report to this House, but no committee presented any report.” I am getting concerned about this for the mere fact that when things of this nature happen, we normally fall on the weaker side of our arguments.
From what has been said in this report, it is an affront to Parliament 75 and action must be taken.

However, if we look at the trend of the argument, the SLBC has not received any fund from government for 2016 and no allocation was made to this institution for 2017.

From the look of things, there is some amount of frustration on the part of the Director General to come to Parliament.

This is because I cannot come to answer for moneys I have neither seen nor received.
I have not even known the whereabouts of those allocations.

I was expecting the Committee to have called the Permanent Secretary, who is the Vote Controller of the Ministry of Information to apprise the Committee about what has exactly happened to those allocations.

Are those moneys floating somewhere or not?

I think that should have been done rather than falling on the weaker side of the argument.

I want to state here that SLBC is under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The Permanent Secretary should be questioned about those allocations, Mr Chairman.

I would join Honourable Benneh Bangura and other members of the Committee on Information and Communications to visit the Director-General of SLBC on this issue.

We should know who is really saying the truth.

Where can we start our investigation?

Is it from the weaker side or to develop our argument from the Vote Controller?

I am very much concerned, Mr Chairman.


THE CHAIRMAN: Mercifully, the Minister of Finance is here to make us understand.

HON.

FRANK KPOSOWA: Mr Chairman, this was why I raised an earlier concern that this House can benefit from the Minister of Finance.

THE CHAIRMAN: Definitely he is going to respond.

HON.

FRANK KPOSOWA: The Accountant-General has records of all disbursements.

HON.

NAVO KAIKAI: Thank you very much, Mr Chairman.


Let us look at Page 4 of Committee III, Right to Access Information Commission.

It is a very important Commission for our democracy.

However, there are few issues I would like to draw the attention of this House.

It is stated on Page 5 that the Commission spent Le 300,000,000 to rent regional offices in the Northern, Southern and Eastern regions.

I would like to know where those offices are exactly located.
I think it would be nice to 76 know the addresses of those offices.

I come from the Eastern Region and I am not aware of an office of such nature in that area.

They might have one, but it would be nice for me to know where that office is located.

Also, if there is an office of such nature, it is almost impossible to rent an office for Le100, 000,000 in that part of the country.
As stated in this Report, the Commission spent Le300, 000,000 to rent three regional offices, which implies that they spent Le100, 000,000 per office.

Also, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the Report indicates that “there are volunteers presently occupying those structures.” To me, this is very contradictory.

It would be nice to know those offices because I come from the Eastern region.

Why are we spending so much to rent a structure in the rural area?
This is very expensive and I want to agree with the Committee‟s recommendation that Members of Parliament should monitor how those moneys were actually expended.

This is because we are using taxpayers‟ money.

I thank you, Mr Chairman.

HON.

IBRAHIM R. BUNDU: Mr Chairman, some old Members of Parliament have observed that this new Member, Honourable Navo Kaikai, who has just entered this Parliament, seems to be catching the eyes of the Speaker very frequently [Applause].

HON.
HON.

ANSUMANA J. KAIKAI: Mr Chairman, the Honourable Ibrahim Bundu should take cognizance of the fact that when a Member of Parliament is effective, that Member of Parliament must catch the attention of the Speaker.

THE CHAIRMAN: I want the new Member of Parliament to learn.

HON.

NAVO KAIKAI: I attended the St Edwards School.

THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Ibrahim Bundu, you are making your observation in the presence of the Honourable Veronica K. Sesay [Laughter].

HON.
HON.

HASSAN A. SESAY: Thank you, Mr Chairman.

As I was looking at Committee III Report, I came across some very salient recommendations.

One aspect of the report which needs attention is on Page 6.

It says, “The Committee recommends that the Parliamentary Committee on Finance probes into the Commission‟s excessive expenditure on overseas travels.” This is a very brilliant recommendation on the 77 part of the Committee relating to the Right to Access Information Commission.
My colleague from Kailahun just spoke about the Le300, 000,000 being spent on rentage in the provincial areas.

My senior colleague from Kono District also mentioned wastage in the Local Councils.

I think all the reports being presented to this House mentioned the issue of wastage.

This same issue is being brought up again by this Committee.

What I believe as a Parliament is that we should try by all means to help ameliorate some of these problems.
We have to ensure that we work collectively so as to close these loopholes, so that wastage would be minimised.

If these loopholes are not closed, we would not get to where we want to go in terms of development.

Again, Mr Chairman, let me briefly talk about overseas travel.

It is another area where we are losing a lot of fund without results.

What are the results we are getting from these overseas travels?

Are they paying dividend to this country?

A lot of people only wanted to go on excursion.


Those are the kind of issues we must address here.

I recommended here in the Well the last time that let no government official, except the President, Vice President, the Speaker and the Chief Justice should travel on Business Class.

This is one of the issues we should be discussing in our reports.

I am saying this because the difference [in monetary terms] between Economy and the Business Classes is too wide.
We have to make it a policy regarding this issue so that we hasten our economic recovery.

Let there be a policy that only the President, Vice President, the Speaker and the Chief Justice travel in Business Class.

These are the people who should enjoy this benefit with equity.

I think we have to do this until the situation normalises.

If we are committed to stabilise this economic situation, we have to sacrifice a lot of opportunities.
Again, I want to buttress the Committee‟s recommendation that officials of that Commission should cease travelling until they are investigated.

HON.

IBRAHIM BEN KARGBO: Mr Chairman, the Member of Parliament from Kailahun spoke about the Le300, 000,000.

If you look at the Committee‟s recommendation, we did state that the Committee on Finance should investigate the expenditure pattern of the Commission.
In other words, our Committee did realise the 78 fact that the money in question was a little bit high, but we have asked the Chairman of the Finance Committee to look into the issue.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to make certain corrections about the SLBC and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The Mass Media was created deliberately to improve the Ministry of Information and Communications.
I want to state here that even the Private Sector Media is part of the Mass Media; but now, it would appear that when we talk about the Mass Media, we are merely just restricting ourselves to SLBC.

I also want to state here that when the SLBC was created by an Act of Parliament, the understanding from the World Bank and the United Nations was that the SLBC should be independent, so that government would not interfere into the day to day operations of that institution.
However, we discovered that these donors failed to live up to expectations, thereby leaving that institution in difficulty to fund itself.

But Mr Chairman, what has been happening over the years is that through „Executive Clearance,‟ the President dictates that moneys be paid to the SLBC for the purpose of paying salaries and to meet other recurrent activities.
The Office of the President thought it fit that salaries of SLBC personnel be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund through the Ministry of Information and Communications.

HON.

DR ABDULAI SESAY: Thank you, Mr Chairman.

I want to refer the House to Page 15 of Committee III report, the National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU].

Mr Chairman, having gone through the report, it seems as if they have some problems in securing the drugs that have already been bought.
I think it is our responsibility for all of us to make sure that these drugs are safe and are well kept.

I want to kindly ask the Minister of Finance to make sure that this issue is looked into because without the appropriate drugs for our hospitals, the whole concept of the free health care is questionable.

I also want to state here that because of the problems within the NPPU, we had report recently about drugs that were stolen from the medical stores and we haven‟t heard much about that in this report.
I believe this is something we need to look into very seriously because government cannot be spending money to procure drugs and at the end of the day, those drugs are being stolen.

As we speak, we 79 have not known those who have stolen those drugs and nothing has been reported on that issue.

I strongly believe that this is very important to make sure that those people are brought to book and the necessary punitive measures be taken.

Thank you.

HON.

DANIEL Y. SESAY: Thank you, Mr Chairman.


Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, without being conservative with the reality on the ground, this budget is an „Austerity Budget‟ and I believe as representatives of our people… - [Interruption].

THE CHAIRMAN: The Minister is against the use of the word „austerity.‟ HON.

DANIEL Y. SESAY: I want to assure this Honourable House that this is an „Austerity Budget.‟ This is because one of the major areas we need to focus our attention to is the area of fuel.
It is one of the areas where a lot of money is being spent.

We have seen so many wastages in the area of fuel supply in all the MDAs.

I want to believe that if Members of Parliament are not provided fuel for their vehicles, I don‟t see any reason why government officials should be provided with fuel.

Members of Parliament are hundred and twenty-four, but we have been providing fuel for ourselves.

We are doing that from our salaries conveniently without extra burden on government.
In order to help this nation, I am asking this House to please support me in recommending that all government officials receiving fuel supply should be factored into their salaries.

I believe if this is done, they will learn how to manage resources.

If you go to Sanders Street in the afternoon hours, you will see the number of vehicles that go there for fuel that are not government vehicles.
The owners of those private vehicles are not government workers, but they get fuel chits from government officials.

Members of Parliament are not there to present fuel chits because they don‟t have that facility at all.

We have seen a lot of wastages in the area of fuel.

Parliamentarians are not enjoying this facility at all, Mr Chairman.

I thank you very much, Mr Chairman.

HON.

HASSAN B.
HON.

HASSAN B.

SHERIFF: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I have heard the many comments made by Members of Parliament concerning wastages by the Local Councils.

I want to remind colleagues representing the various parliamentary Committees that we also have a responsibility to check whenever we visit those Local Councils.
Whenever you visit those Councils and observed any leakage in a particular 80 Council, it is your duty, as a Member of Parliament and as a Committee to raise that up and expose that particular Council.

It should not be left with the Executive alone.

That is why we have the parliamentary oversight Committees to checkmate their activities.

Secondly, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to talk about the Access to Information Commission.
According to the Report, the attention of the Committee on Finance has been drawn to the huge amount of money being spent on offices rentage in the regional headquarter towns.

I want to assure this House that when we come from recess, that particular institution would be one of the institutions the Committee on Finance would investigate.

A thorough investigation would be conducted for all the regional offices where those huge amounts were spent.
Let us work together as a team, so that we would be able to expose those MDAs, including the Local Councils that are misusing government funds.

I thank you very much.

HON.

PATRICK L. M. KARGBO: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to refer the House to Page 13 of Committee III.

It is a serious concern to me because we as parents in this country should be worried about what is happening in the area of drug abuse.

Recently, we heard of youth going around the graveyards to exhume the remains of people.
I am of the opinion that those boys who are in that habit are under the influence of alcohol.

If you go to Page 13, you will see that the allocation for the Drug Law Enforcement Agency is very worrisome and it is a concern.

If we want to control the abuse of drugs in this country, we should pay great attention to the allocation made to the agencies that are responsible to control some of these illegal activities in this country.
We have been talking about the future leaders of this country, but the kinds of behaviours they are putting up these days are unacceptable.

If this lawlessness continues, we will be heading to a dangerous situation in this country.

Therefore, the Committees on Defence and Internal Affairs have been asked to look into this issue, so that they could assist in resolving the many problems in that institution.

Out of a budget submission of Le 30,000,000,000, only Le 886,000,000 was allocated.
81 THE CHAIRMAN: Honourable Patrick L. M. Kargbo, you are a senior Member of Parliament.

A relatively new Member of Parliament in the person of Honourable Mustapha M. Braima did observe when Honourable Komba E. Koedoyoma was making his presentation, that this is not time for debate.

We are not debating the budget because we have passed that stage.

This is the Committee of Supply.

The question is you approve the allocations or not.

HON.
HON.

PATRICK L. KARGBO: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to appeal that an increment be given to this Agency for improvement in their activities.

I thank you very much.

HON.

ALBERT DEEN KAMARA: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want the Minister and the Chairman of Committee III to clarify two issues.

With the leave of Mr Chairman, I will read the last paragraph on Page 14.
It says: “For 2016 FY, NATCOM did not submit any budget to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and as a result, no allocation was made in that regard.” The third paragraph on Page 15 reads: “Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, as clearly explained, NATCOM generate revenue from mobile operators.
Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Le 100, 000 allocation is adequate.” My argument is that the Committee had earlier mentioned that no allocation was made to NATCOM, but the other paragraph is saying contrary.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the other clarification I want the Minister of Finance to make is about the revenue generated by NATCOM.
It says: “NATCOM generated the sum of Le 34,538,396,265 as against a revenue target of Le 46,000,000,000.” I want to know if NATCOM is paying directly into the CRF.

We want to know the difference between NATCOM and NRA.

NRA is paying directly to the CRF.

I thank you, Mr Chairman.

HON.

BENNEH BANGURA: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, this Honourable House would agree with me that an allocation of Le100, 000 is pittance.

Some will describe it to be a token.


So, I see no reason why the Honourable Member from 82 Bombali should raise such issue.

If you go through the various reports, you will observe that Maritime is also part of that group and so is the EPA.

I thank you.

HON.

IBRAHIM PARTEH BAH: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to look at Committee V Report.

With your leave, I would like to read Page 28, Paragraph 4.
It sates: “Revenue generated by the Board through licenses and registration fee.” My question to the Committee is that I want to know whether they asked the National Tourist Board if they generated revenue from tourism.

This is because when the Minister was presenting the budget, he talked about the Local Content Policy.

In other words, he said that we should start using our locally produced goods and services.
I want to know if the Committee asked the Board members whether they have started encouraging Sierra Leoneans to use our tourist sites, so that they can generate revenue.

HON.

KOMBA E. KOEDOYOMA: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in respond to my colleague‟s question, we did ask the Tourism Board whether there were plans to follow what the Minister presented here, which is the Local Content Policy and we were told that they have started.
In fact, the good thing is that we now have local transporters who are coming up with various means of transport to move people around.

We have the Postal Services, the people‟s bus and „salone borbor‟.

These are national institutions which are ready to cooperate with the National Tourist Board to be able to move people to our tourist sites.

HON.

ANSUMANA J. KAIKAI: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, all said and done, these are Committee Reports and Parliament cannot add to these allocations.
Parliament can recommend for a reduction, but there are other factors that are beyond our control.

As such, I only want to make few observations.

There was a recommendation on the Sierra Leone Police [SLP] about retaining funds that are raised by that institution.

I think this is the reason why the Single Treasury Account was passed into law by this House, so that the issue of leakage is avoided.
To me, allowing institutions to retain part of the revenue they raise is like encouraging leakages in the system.

We should not encourage that, not only in the police, but in other MDAs.

They 83 would not serve any good purposes.

If an MDA believes that their allocations are inadequate, they should bring it up at the proper hearing, so that this House could recommend for a supplementary budget.

It would not be appropriate to allow certain institutions to retain certain percentage of their revenue.
We all know what is happening in this country.

We are also aware that one of the reasons why government had not been in the position to balance the budget is because of measures of that nature.

Let us have what is coming for this country in one source.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, if you take a close look at the issue raised in Committee III Report concerning the rentage of regional offices by Right to Access Information Commission, you would agree with what I am saying.
As far as we are concerned, the Minister should be in a position to tell us why these figures keep coming up every year in the budget.

That is very embarrassing to the government.

So, you should clear it because the Mass Media Services have the loudest voice and we would like to know if that is happening with other MDAS.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to know if the Metrological Department is still existing.
When I was in secondary school, I used to listen to the weather forecast through the SLBS because they used to report the weather from Lungi International Airport.

For a long time now we have not heard any of such report and that is because maybe the leadership of that Department has not been active in that regard.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to briefly talk about the Local Councils.

In fact, every Member of Parliament knows what is happening in the Local Councils.
They are so autonomous that some of us who passed that Act in this House could even ask government to review that Act because they are not performing at all.

Most of them have not been reported to this House.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the one hour appearance by the Councils before the Parliamentary Sub-Committees is not enough.

Local Councils are very important for the development of this country.
Government depends on them to carry out those necessary functions that are been heaped on Members of Parliament in terms of building schools, court barrays, making roads, etc., from our pockets.

What are they 84 doing with the funds that are provided for those services?

Let them come and tell us.

If government is not funding them sufficiently, they should let us know.
It has now become part of the political agenda that when a Member of Parliament visits an area, people would ask you to build, repair, and provide school benches.

Is government not funding those Councils to provide those basic social amenities?

We should know because these are burdens that are been carried by Members of Parliament in their various constituencies.
On that note, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I am sure the Minister has to reply to some of the issues raised by Members of Parliament and the people of this country will listen to his responses.

Our constituents want to know if these funds are provided, but the services are not provided.

If that has been the case, it could be a reason why our constituents are running after us for those services.

I thank you very much.

HON.


IBRAHIM R. BUNDU [Majority Leader of the House and Leader of Government Business]: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, in ending this debate, I want to state that this exercise is very good for us because it gives us the opportunity to engage in a face to face discussions with the Vote Controllers on how moneys allocated to them were used.

Time is not always on our side to fully engage them.
However, I want to state here that this should be a base for an immediate follow up by the various Committees we have in this House.

We normally engage these MDAs during this period, but we are quick to forget all the promises they always make here.

We should hold these officials accountable for their actions.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, this should now be a step towards all the promises made.
Some of them make lots of promises whenever they are in front of us, but as soon as they leave this place, they forget their promises.

Let it don‟t be business as usual.

Let us go the unusual way to get officials of these MDAs to meet their timelines and targets.

We want these MDAs to put more efforts, so that they can increase their revenue generation for the government.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, most of these MDAs are very good at expending, but to generate revenue is a problem for them.
They are very good at running behind 85 the Ministry of Finance on a daily basis for their allocations.

If they are generating revenue, I don‟t think whether the Minister of Finance would give them more funds.

I have also observed that these MDAs are only collecting their own revenue, but the revenue that is meant for the Consolidated Fund has its own challenges.

Having said that, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to make specific reference to the National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit [NPPU].
It is very important because that Unit has the powers of Parliament.

In other words, NPPU is an Act of Parliament and we have to respect every provision in that Act.

So, I want to entreat the Committee on Health and Sanitation to look at that particular recommendation made by Sub- Appropriation Committee III.

If that particular Unit is shut down and no immediate remedy is instituted, it would bring some problems.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to refer the House to Page 28 of Sub- Appropriation Committee III, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

It should be one of the revenue generating Ministries.

They receive funds for most of their activities and when an MDA is receiving cash, if you don‟t go after that MDA to put some mechanisms in place, you would meet something different.

I want to state here that that Ministry is one of the huge beneficiaries of duty free concession.
They receive duty free concession for over Le54, 000,000,000 from January to June.

Why are they unable to generate less than Le2, 000,000,000.

The Ministry‟s revenue target was Le 2,000,000,000, but could not raise that amount.

If you are receiving a concession of over Le 54,000,000,000, but unable to generate less than Le 2,000,000,000, how do you reconcile that situation?

That is also another area that we need the oversight Committees to look into very carefully.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I will end my contribution by asking Honourable Members not to throw away their copies.

The reports are very revealing and this should be the first assignment of our oversight Committees as soon as the Committees are reconstituted for the next session.

I thank you very much.

MR MOMODU KARGBO [Minister of Finance and Economic Development]: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to thank you very much for this extensive 86 discussions.
I have picked out few issues which were raised and which I think I should reply to.

I want to start with the complaint that the Ministry of Finance submitted the budget to Parliament very late.

That is true because the budget should be submitted to Parliament on the last Friday of October.

That has always been the case.

When I came, I did some research and found out that it has always been respected.
However, I want to promise here that I will go all out to make sure that next year‟s budget is submitted on time.

We will start early and we will seek Parliament‟s support, so that we will not rush Parliament.

We would want Parliament to do a thorough job.

I agree that the issue of budget is no small matter; therefore, we should not be playing with it at all.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, the issue on the use of the term „office and generals‟ was also raised.
It is a vote head I don‟t like to see at all.

I wish I could have the power to scratch that off because that is where lots of things go wrong.

It is a Vote Head where you find leakages and things unaccounted for are clustered.

As I said the last time, if you go to the offices of these MDAs, you would see the same furniture every year.

These things last for ten to fifteen years and even more; and they become icons in the offices.

They take years in the office.


The experience which I have by visiting other countries is that they will tell you this furniture is 100 years old and they are always proud about such furniture.

Sierra Leoneans do not pride themselves for things that are five years old.

We like to change furniture every year.

I want to remind this Honourable House that these are things we import into this country.

These are comments I take in good fate.


Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I said something regarding these reports last year that these reports are very important and they contain rich materials based on your findings.

Therefore, I want to suggest here that these reports are compiled into one document and circulated to all MDAs.
To me, it could be a working document and it could give me a reason to say when I went to Parliament, Parliament said „A‟ and „B.‟ This document could also be a reference material for me; and I would want to plead to Parliament that these reports are compiled and circulated.

I want to state here that everything has a start and we have to start somewhere.

I know the issue of financing is 87 an obstacle.

We have the printing department which we have provided money for in this budget.
We need to move this country and this is how we move this country.

I want a holistic document where I will be able to reference Parliament.

I should be able to say this is what Parliament said about your MDA.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to talk about the Mass Media Service, specifically the SLBC.

I can understand Honourable Braima taking this issue wholeheartedly, but we also have to listen to what Honourable Ibrahim Ben Kargbo said about SLBC.
He was the Minister of Information and Communications when the transformation from Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service to the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation was done.

Allow me to say it was a clear deal and we fought very hard to transform SLBS into SLBC in order to give its independence and neutrality.

We gave it all the powers and there were initial supports for SLBC.

I want to inform this Honourable House that as government, we are presently paying the salaries of all SLBC staff.
In that regard, the explanation which the Director-General gave was a little bit disingenuous.

He should have gone so far as to say to the Committee Members that made the call that of course we do get money to pay our salaries.

And let me tell you Honourable Members, when we gave them money, they transformed all that money into salaries.

The salary allocation for SLBC is in the region of ten billion Leones per year.
Apart from the Ministries of Social Welfare, Health, Education, Police, Defence and Internal Affairs, which other MDAs do we allocate the sum of Le10 billion a year?

THE CHAIRMAN: Mr Minister, this is news to me.

That allocation is even more than what is given to Parliament.

MR MOMODU KARGBO: Oh yes, Mr Chairman.

This was an attempt to give them their independence because of the nature of their organisation.

They transform all of it into salary and we are hooked like that.
Therefore, what we usually do is that when there is an emergency, we give them something.

That has been happening, Honourable Members.

Again, Mr Chairman when we went to China, one of the issues that was discussed was the transformation of the SLBC from analogue to digital.

They haven‟t been able to do it by themselves.

What is happening to the moneys they having been 88 collecting?

How many times have we not sat before SLBC and hear them advertising for people?

Are they doing that for free?


They make a lot of money from that.

What do they do with that money?

They have not said that to you, Honourable Braima.

They have not revealed the amount of money they have raised.

As one Honourable Member was saying in one of the debates, it is always government, but they do make money.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I come to the Sierra Leone Police and the moneys they raised.

They raised moneys in the course of discharging their duties using state facilities.
I am saying this because the Police are in charge of the SSDs and the SSDs are state property.

The uniform they wear, the boot they wear, the guns they carry and the caps they wear are all state property.

This is the paraphernalia that gives them the aura for them to make money.

That money is state money and I want to reiterate here that the PFM Act does not allow that any more.
Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, this is my first time of hearing the problems at the National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit.

I think it is an independent Unit and I would take it up with the Minister of Health and Sanitation.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, let me say something about the allocation of resources to the Provincial Secretary‟s Offices in the North, South and East.

A lot of the vouchers and cheques are in the Bank of Sierra Leone for payment, but I have asked to withhold those payments.
I took that decision because if you look at those payments, they are mostly local travels.

The question is where and for what purpose?

Again, we have the Provincial Secretary Offices and we also have the district offices with District Officers [DOs].

I think this is the decentralisation process, so why these travelling?

Some of those moneys are about Le150, 000,000 on local travel.

We can use that amount to build one secondary school.

We can build 4 to 5 classrooms school with that money.
So, we need to understand this expenditure pattern, Mr Chairman.

I wish to share the information with you.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I want to end this debate with the issue of wastage.

These wastages are the issues that we face every day.

The use of the term „office and general‟ is something I detest to the highest degree.

We don‟t get a fight 89 over building schools; and that is why we are running behind the World Bank to even build our schools and our health facilities.
Mr Chairman, the government money which is our own and which is more flexible is not utilised prudently.

When you allocate funds to these MDAs, they misuse these funds.

In a nutshell, money is available at the bank for the Provincial Secretary‟s Offices in the North, South and East.

All the cheques are lying at the Bank of Sierra Leone, but I am holding on to them because we need to talk about those local travels.

We must have fiscal discipline in this country.


Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I felt so bad when the Deputy Minority Leader was complaining about the Local Councils.

First, we experienced decentralisation and later decided to centralise those Councils; and we have decentralised again.

We are still having problems and we really need to talk about these Local Councils.

That is the only thing I can say about these Councils we all need to talk.
Interestingly, this Honourable House has just recommended three billion for Council „A‟, four billion for Council „B,‟ one billion for Council „C,‟ etc.

Well, it would be approved and it becomes the budget for next year.

This Honourable House approves budgets and there are oversight Committees that usually visit these Councils.

I have not heard anybody being charged to court or being jailed.

This is why these officials are misusing public funds with impunity.
All of us should come together and find ways of addressing this issue; otherwise we will continue to complain year after year about wastages and about moneys unaccounted for by these Councils.

How much more can we capacitate those Councils?

How many trainings have those people gone through?

If you look at the budget, almost everybody is supporting these Councils.

Therefore, Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, there is the need to tighten expenditure and we will continue to tighten expenditure.
Apart from Honourable Hassan A. Sesay‟s presentation, many other Members of Parliament expressed their frustrations.

Almost every Member of Parliament talked about the leakages and that was why I said that the measures we have put in place are not „austerity measures.‟ I will continue to say that an austerity measure is when you cut to the bone.
But if you are blocking the leaks, if 90 you are dealing with the wastes, if you want to address the abuse, if you want to arrest the unaccounted for, that is not austerity measure.

Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, there has been a general provision for supplementary budget.

I want to share some of the problems, particularly those mentioned.

I want to state here that some of these problems are with us and we even sit on them.
For instance, Auditor-General is presently constructing an office around the Vice President‟s Office along Tower Hill.

Also, the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] is building another office somewhere around this Parliament.

The question is, are they not the same offices with the same mandate?

Both of them are responsible for accountability.

Shouldn‟t we have managed them into one building?


As I stand here, Mr Chairman, I have tried to coax the Commissioner-General for Anti-Corruption Commission and the Auditor-General, but everybody was talking about his or her independence out of government money.

We are not being economical at all.

If you go to the National Electoral Commission building, you will find the Human Rights Commission in the same building.
These are the challenges of running this economy and they are the issues we have to address.

So, everybody comes before you and tells his/her own one sided story, but they will never give you the global picture.

If we had put that money which had gone to the ACC and Audit Service Sierra Leone, I am sure we would have one big tall building that is housing both offices.

We would have saved something to start another building to house other offices.
This is why government is always renting offices and that has been the reason for the high cost of rent in this country.

These are the challenges we face as a government.

Honourable Members, there are lots of issues buried in what we have been discussing.

I want to inform that Chairman of the Finance Committee that we have a lot of work to do.

We need the help of this Parliament.


Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, giving the amendments that have been made in respect of the SLBC and the Provincial Secretary Office [South], I move that the Vote Heads that have been presented under Committees III and V stand part of the schedule.
I thank you [Applause] 91 [Question proposed, put and agreed to] [The various Vote Heads, as read by the Minister and presented by Sub-Appropriation Committees III and V, with the exceptions of Mass Media Services and Provincial Secretary [South] to form part of the schedule] The Schedule to form part of the bill MR MOMODU KARGBO: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I move that the Schedule as amended stand part of the Bill.

[Question Proposed, Put and Agreed] [The Schedule form part of the Bill as amended].
[Clauses 1 to 5 stand part of the Bill] MR MOMODU KARGBO: Mr Chairman, Honourable Members, I move that Clauses 1 to 5 stand part of the Bill.
[Question proposed] [Clauses 1 to 5 form part of the Bill] Report and Third Reading [The House resumes] MR MOMODU KARGBO: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, I report that the Bill entitled the Appropriation Act, 2017, being an Act to authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, for the services of Sierra Leone for the year 2017 and for other related matters, having gone through the Committee of Supply with some amendments, I hereby move that the Bill be read the third time and passed into law.
[Question Proposed, Put and agreed to] [The Bill entitled the Appropriation Act, 2017, being an Act to authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Fund for the services of Sierra Leone, for the year 2017 has been read the third time and passed into law].

92 THE SPEAKER: Mr Minister, I want to thank you very much.

You are at liberty to leave now.

HON.


ANSUMANA J. KAIKAI: Mr Speaker, the communication that has just taken place, reminds me of a communication that took place in this house in December of 1996 when the late Hon Thaimu Bangura was the Minister of Finance, he had Members of Parliament waiting here until 9.00 p.m. at night, only for us to know that the Bank of Sierra Leone had closed its doors and it was Christmas eve.

THE SPEAKER: I am sure Minister Momodu Kargbo is not like that.
[The House rose at 1.20 p.m., and was adjourned to Thursday, 15th December, 2016 at ADJOURNMENT 10:00a.m 93