By Allieu Bockarie
232news
A few months back, some Cricket members complained to the Sports Ministry that the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association Francis Samura is running the association unconstitutionally.
They went on to say that the Chairman has misappropriated funds to develop the game. The Cricket members did not stop complaining to the Sports Ministry but also took the matter to the Anti-Corruption Commission where they claimed that Francis is corrupt and that they should investigate him.
Francis was asked by the Anti- Corruption Commission to provide documents on his financial expenditures which he did. But up to this time, he said there is no statement yet from the ACC, finding him wanting for the alleged corruption.
On the side of the Sports Ministry, they formed a committee to investigate the matter with each party given two members. At the end of the investigation, the committee came out with 13 points of recommendations to end the infighting.
Key among the recommendations according to the Cricket members were:
- The organizational structure of SLCA in line with the ICC standards.
- The Recruitment of CEO with strong credentials.
- The Appointment of independent auditors to look into the records from June 2022 to the current date.
In response to the recommendations, Francis told the committee that the report is good and it is in the right track for the development of Cricket.
He adopted and approved the recommendation of the committee and assured the Ministry, NSA and ICC that the Boards will support and implement the recommendations of the committee.
Francis promised that he will later address the Cricket members on the full report and the way forward for the game they all love.
