Education Ministry Was Run As A Cartel And Criminal Enterprise

30 September, 2020 (SALONE TIMES)

FREETOWN – The just released White paper on the report of the Hon. Sir Justice Biobele Georgewill notes among other things that Ministry of Education, Science and Technology “… was the most recklessly managed Ministry … and was run as a cartel and criminal enterprise by Dr. Minkailu Bah and his collaborators”.

The SLPP Government in its commitment and desire to eradicate corruption, mismanagement and indiscipline in the affairs of government, as well as the recovery of all State assets and properties acquired through unexplained wealth and unjust enrichment, by Constitutional Instrument No. 64 of 2018 published in the Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Vol. CXLIX, No. 65 dated 1^st August, 2018, instituted the Commission of Inquiry (Examination, Inquiry and Investigation) Notice (1), 2018 with Hon. Sir Justice Biobele Georgewill as Chairman and Sole Commissioner in order to:-

1. examine the assets and other related matters in respect of-
2. persons who were President, Vice President, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers; and
3. Heads and Chairmen of Boards of Parastatals, Departments and Agencies within the period from November 2007 to April 2018
4. Inquire into and investigate whether assets were acquired lawfully or unlawfully;
5. inquire into-
6. persons who were President, Vice President, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers; and
7. Heads and Chairmen of Boards of Parastatals, Departments and Agencies;
8. ascertain as to whether the persons referred to in sub paragraphs (a) to (c) –
9. maintained a standard of life above that which was commensurate to their official emoluments;
10. owned or were in control of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to their official emoluments or there are evidence of corruption, dishonesty or abuse of office for private benefit by them;
11. collaborated with any person in respect of such corruption, dishonesty or abuse of office;
12. acted wilfully or complacently in such a manner so as to cause financial loss or damage to the government, local authority or parastatal including a public corporation;
13. acquired directly or indirectly financial or material gains fraudulently, improperly or wilfully to the detriment of the government, local authority or a parastatal including a public corporation, statutory Commission, body or any university
14. to inquire into and investigate any persons or matters as may from time to time referred to the Commission by his Excellency the President.

For instance, the sum of USD23, 000, 000. 00 which had been earmarked for the revitalization of education development was misappropriated and had remained unaccounted. The Commission also found that the Ministry acted in contravention of Section 73(1) and (3) of the Financial Management Regulations 2007 by withdrawing Le 9,438,365,963.00  to purchase office items and equipment from the Imprest Account without vouchers, receipts and delivery notes. In addition, the Ministry used the sum of USD34, 000, 000. 00 for construction of technical and vocational institutions and school feeding without supporting documents. Furthermore, for instance, USD324, 000 was overpaid for 1200 students at Limkokwing University when only 1092 were registered in the 2016/2017 academic session. In all, the Commission found that i. Le44, 764, 428, 798. 00 and ii. USD67, 951, 222. 00 were misappropriated and or unverified and had remained unaccounted for. Government accepts recommendations 1-33

1. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le10, 739, 659, 424. 00 withdrawn and used on school feeding program without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; and iii. Dennis Vandy, and they should be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution.
2. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le9, 916, 720, 000. 00 withdrawn and used on College fees subsidies without detailed supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; and ii. Mani Koroma and iii. Dennis Vandy, and they should be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution.
3. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD23, 000, 000. 00 used for revitalization of education development in Sierra Leone were without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; and iii. Dennis Vandy, and they should be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution.
4. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD34, 000, 000. 00 grant from Islamic Development Bank for construction of technical and vocational institutions in Sierra Leone withdrawn and used without any supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; and iii. Dennis Vandy, and they should be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution. 
5. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le2, 458, 576, 240. 00 withdrawn and spent on the rehabilitation and extension works in Fourah Bay College were without relevant supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minklailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; iv. TS and Co. LTd; and v. Sogefel SARL
6. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le2, 529, 953, 610. 00 withdrawn and spent without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; and iii. Dennis Vandy.
7. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le62, 078, 440. 00 deducted as withholding taxes were not paid over to the NRA and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i.Mani Koroma; and ii Dennis Vandy.
8. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 453, 273, 316 .00 withdrawn from the Schools Materials Account without verification and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah, ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
9. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 617, 206, 000. 00 withdrawn from the integrated financial management information system account without adequate supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
10. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of 31, 889, 000. 00 withdrawn from the Project account and used on vehicles repairs but without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Mani Koroma; ii. Dennis Vandy; and iii. Umaru A. Conteh.
11. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le2, 269, 730, 592. 00 withdrawn to fund educational institutions in Bo but without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
12. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le76, 212, 000. 00 withdrawn and used on fees subsidies in tertiary institutions on payroll of staff than on list of Students paid was without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
13. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le237, 996, 000. 00 withdrawn and used to pay for 39, 660 liters of fuel not utilized and without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Mani Koroma; ii. Dennis Vandy; and iii. Umaru A. Conteh.
14. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le43, 474, 486. 00 deducted as withholding taxes were not paid over to NRA and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Mani Koroma; ii. Dennis Vandy; and iii. Umaru A. Conteh. 
15. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le130, 000, 000. 00 withdrawn and awarded to Institute of Advanced Management Technology and Sierra Leone Opportunity Industrialization Center outside the approved list of such institutions and without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; iv. Umaru A. Conteh; v. Institute of Advanced Management Technology, and vi. Sierra Leone Opportunity Industrialization Center.
16. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le124, 585, 832. 00 withdrawn and given out as subventions but without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.    
17. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le10, 000, 000. 00 withdrawn and paid to Christian Faith Orphanage without unauthentic receipt with address of the said Orphanage and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Mani Koroma; ii. Dennis Vandy, iii. Umaru A. Conteh; and iv. Christian Faith Orphanage.
18. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 237, 747, 666. 00 were withdrawn and used on procurements without due process and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
19. The following person shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le315, 783, 000. 00 were used on LPOs without the approval of the Permanent Secretary and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: Sorieba Kamara.
20. The following person shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le284, 550, 000. 00 were withdrawn and spent on mere quotations without any bidding process and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: Dr. Minkailu Bah.
21. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le70, 474, 180. 00 were withdrawn and spent on contracts with incomplete details and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, i. Mani Koroma; ii. Dennis Vandy; and iii. Umaru Conteh.
22. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le91, 449, 038. 00 were withdrawn and spent without any supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
23. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 068, 990, 342. 00 were withdrawn and spent on grants – in – aid without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
24. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD10, 510, 990. 00 used on International Development Bank projects were not available for audit and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Director of the Project; iii. Mani Koroma; iv. Dennis Vandy; and v. Umaru A. Conteh and they should be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution.
25. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le3, 519, 199, 967. 00 were withdrawn on cheques issued in the names of staff of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and not in names of the beneficiaries and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and v. Umaru A. Conteh.
26. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le2, 605, 205, 450. 00 were withdrawn from ENISS and School Materials Accounts without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
27. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le467, 100, 000. 00 were withdrawn and spent on payment of WASC fess for 3460 students in 51 private Schools outside the mandate of Government but on approval of the Minister and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
28. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le778, 510, 944. 00 arising from payment of Schools fees in some public Schools were not paid into Bank account but spent by the Schools without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Broderick Junior Secondary School (Le142, 878, 000. 00); and ii. Akibo – Betts Municipal Junior Secondary School (Le3, 525, 000. 00); iii. Mani Koroma; iv. Dennis Vandy; and v. Umaru Conteh.
29. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD98, 000. 00 were withdrawn from the School Materials Account and spent outside the mandate of the account on payment of two years rent on property situate at No. 7, Priscilla Street, Freetown and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely; i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
30. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD18, 232. 00 withdrawn from the School Materials Account and paid outside the mandate of the account to Dr. Minkailu Bah and three others as daily subsistence allowances and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah.
31. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 537, 072, 929. 00 were withdrawn from the Imp rest account with the Bank of Sierra Leone without supporting documents and unverified and had remained misappropriated and or unaccounted for, namely: i. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
32. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of Le1, 068, 990, 342. 00 withdrawn and spent in 2013/2014 on payment of overseas students grants but without supporting documents and swift transfer and unverified and had remained diverted or unaccounted for, namely: Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Mani Koroma; iii. Dennis Vandy; and iv. Umaru A. Conteh.
33. On Limkokwing University:
34. The following persons shall jointly and severally refund and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD324, 000 overpaid by Government of Sierra Leone for 1200 students when only 1092 were registered students in the 2016/2017 academic session, namely: ii. Dr. Minkailu Bah; ii. Umaru A. Conteh; and iii. Limkokwing University, Freetown Campus and they shall be referred to the Criminal Jurisdiction and or Anti – Corruption Commission for investigation and likely prosecution.
35. The understanding or agreement entered into between the Government of Sierra Leone and Limkokwing University over the amount due payable as school fees for 2017/2018 and the 2018 new intake and tendered as Exhibit D2 before this Commission should be reviewed immediately in line with the findings in paragraphs 33 (viii) (a) – (c) above.

Government accepts recommendation 34. However, Government directs that all amounts due and recommended to be refunded and paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government of Sierra Leone shall be done within 90 days from the date of the publication of the Report together with this White Paper.