IN PARLIAMENT Parliament to Debate Tejan-Cole’s Draconian Corruption Bill in September Posted by on Jun 25, 2008, 02:03

Some legal luminaries in the country have described the new Anti Corruption Bill as a document put together to crucify innocent Sierra Leoneans and to limit job opportunities to a few individuals in the legal field, while a cross section of members of the civil society group have condemned it out rightly, stating that the bill is not a respecter of principles and humanity.

The new Anti Corruption Commission Bill makes provision  only for lawyers with not less than ten years legal experience and administrative background to be appointed as Commissioner, while the Deputy Commissioner shall have proven knowledge, ability and experience of at least ten years in accounting, banking, financial services or any relevant profession and shall be a person of conspicuous probity.

Further, other sections of the new bill give power to the Commission to arrest girlfriends, concubines, paramour of person(s) under investigation by the commission. The bill unfolds the complicated nature involves in the removal of the Commissioner and dictates the number of years the Commissioner and his Deputy to be in office, with clauses included for their re-appointments.

Meanwhile, some members of the public in possession of copies of the new bill are calling on the government and Members of Parliament to take a critical look at the bill before it is passed into law.

In a brief conversation with the Majority Leader of Parliament, Hon. Edward Turay and a reporter of this press, the leader said that all efforts would be made to scrutinize the bill in the interest of  the people of this nation “This government is not here to create a monster, despite it is our aim to eradicate corruption but we cannot do it in a manner that innocent Sierra Leoneans will suffer unjustly, only those who are committing corruption crimes should suffer the penalty of their actions” Hon. Turay remarked.

Meanwhile, as we go to press, copies of the new bill titled “The Anti Corruption Act, 2008” are not available at the government bookshop for the public to access. It is reported that only a very few quantity was published as a strategy to deprive the reading public from having access to it. The question that keeps doing the rounds in Freetown is “What has happened to the old 2001 Act that appears to have been shelved for the 2008 Act”?

However, several suggestions from the general public  are that before the bill is debated and passed into law by Members of Parliament, the House of Parliament which is representing the people should organize debates and symposiums where the bill would be discussed and views of the people taking into account. “This time round we want Parliament to give us the opportunity to make contributions and not to ignore us.”A member of one of the civil society groups said.

Parliament, according to inside sources will debate the bill in September 2008. It is the expectation of Members of Parliament that adequate sensitizations and debates would have been held and relevant inputs made by members of the public.