By Sulaiman Jalloh
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament who doubles the Chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC), Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh has, during a recent hearing on the Auditor General’s Report in Parliament on Tower Hill in Freetown, accused the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) of poor investments.
The Deputy Speaker stated that most of the investments, including but not limited to, the reconstruction of Sewa Grounds Market, students hostel projects and Sierra Ferry are not good to write home about, stressing that all of those investments are without insurance covers which, according to him, is a serious issue. The lawmaker admonished NASSIT to tender documents for Sewa Grounds project and students hostel in the universities.
The Deputy Speaker also pointed out that NASSIT has spent ten years on the Cape Sierra Aberdeen project which, he said, is another poor investment.
Hon. Tawa Conteh further disclosed that Sierra Ferry was handed over to the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, but it has not been paying liabilities to the government, adding that it appears that the Trust has been engaging in projects without knowing what the government will get from those investments.
The Deputy Opposition Leader 2, Hon. Aaron Aruna Koroma, affirmed that there are leakages at the NASSIT’s Plaza in Makeni, adding that the road leading to the hotel is in ruins. Hon. Koroma therefore called on the Trust to make their investments viable improving the road network leading to their investments in Makeni.
According to the Auditor General’s Report, the Trust failed to make certain documents available to the audit team for inspection and that there was no investments appraisal for Sewa ground project.
Responding, a representative of NASSIT said that the project is still under construction and it is not under investment property.
Hon. Ibrahim Tawa Conteh however stated that there is no-way the Trust can spend monies on project without an appraisal, especially when the project has stalled.
The NASSIT representative furthered that the Trust has a prudent financial discipline and that it always does sensitive analysis as to whatever is being spent on any project for it to be recovered over certain period. He asserted that the Trust has documents to the effect, assuring that every project implemented by NASSIT is being implemented by the Project Manager and payment are made upon certification of completion. He assured the Committee that the Trust will submit the relevant documents in due course.
Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Wednesday, July 3rd , 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)