NEWS > Commentaries Depriving the Govrnment Printing Department in Sierra Leone Posted by on Jun 26, 2009, 18:04

The Government Printing Department in Sierra Leone is under the Ministry of Information and Communication and supposed, among its functions to conduct and perform printing services for all government and parastatals in the country. It came into existence way back in the early 1970s as a result of the need to cushion expenditures incurred by the central government in the printing industry.

The Government Printing Department has qualified and trained personnel with diverse skills and technical know-how who are paid regularly by the government from its coffers, though the salaries of some of the workers could be seen as ridiculous, however a large percentage of them are loyal workers who have spent the better part of their lives providing services to succeeding governments and the country. They may be accused of embezzlement of funds, illegal sales of printing materials to the general public and pilfering of parts from machines found in their place of work.

These and more are some of the allegations the workers are to contend with, but that does not mean they cannot perform their professional duties when giving the opportunity to do so. It is not known whether since the assumption of office the Minister of Information and Communication, Alhaji I.B.Kargbo has paid official or unofficial visit to this place to determine its needs and how it can be transformed to better serve the public and government. It would appear that this arm of the Ministry of Information and Communication has been neglected not only by this government but also the past regime.

The general atmosphere and environment is a big disappointment, as a nation that has failed to attach values to an important institution in the country. The total neglect of this establishment is evident in the structure and personnel, which requires government intervention to make it viable, productive and a pride of the nation. Printing jobs that should be done by this establishment are contracted to privately run printing facilities in the country, where huge sums of money are paid, leaving the government printing to languish and its workers remain idle and redundant.

Monies paid by parastatals and government institutions to these privately run printing outfits could be used to improve the Government Printing Department and purchase new machines to replace the old and dilapidated  ones. It would be recalled that on his assumption of office, President Koroma said that he was going to run the country as a business, if that is so from the contextual interpretation why not transform the Government Printing Department into a business outfit that can generate its own revenue, using facilities that are available and the skills of its personnel.

If properly managed, the Government Printing Department can generate its own resources that would be used to pay salaries and other benefits to its workers; it can purchase its own printing materials and make itself viable and productive. Some of the reasons why government institutions and parastatals prefer to take printing jobs to privately run facilities is because of the 10%--15% commissions paid out to them by private individuals who are owners of these outfits, neglecting the fact that the commissions paid out to them are from the government coffer and not from the pockets of these privately owned printing outfits, which is a loss to the central government. Is that a way of running the country like a business?

In running the country like a business the business man uses facilities and structures that are available within the establishment to generate income for the business and not the other way round. For years now, this practice has been ongoing with no measures put in place by the Ministry of Information and Communication or the government to reverse the ugly and unproductive trend. Because some of these government officials who are awarding printing contracts to privately-run printing outfits are deriving financial benefits from their enterprises or they want to enrich and appease their families, friends and political supporters at the expense of the state. If this government is propagating the ideology of national development it should consider some of these areas that are useful and crucial in the development aspiration of the country.

The Minister of Information and Communication Alhaji I.B.Kargbo should leave his mark behind so that others could emulate when he retires from active politics, which is not too far  from now; and can do that if he takes an uncompromising stance in seeing that all government and parastatals printing jobs are directed to the Government Printing Department. This effort would not only generate huge income for his ministry and the state, but will make the institution productive and significant in the development drive of the APC government.

The Government Printing Department had played and continues to play significant role in the development of Sierra Leone, which the current administration should take into account and focus attention on developing the institution to enable it meets its constitution mandate to the people and the country. The practice of enriching private individuals, party supporters and privately run printing outfits at the expensive of the state and national development should be discouraged and mechanism put in place to transform the Government Printing Department. This should be the national task of the Minister, Alhaji I.B.Kargbo and the Ministry of Information and Communication. It is true that his ministry is big with lots of responsibility to undertake and accomplish for the general good of the general population.