By Hassan Osman Kargbo
Stakeholders have questioned the suspension of Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General, Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce and Mr Tamba Momoh, by filing information request under the Sierra Leone Right to Access to Information Law.
According to their release, They have formally requested a copy of the detailed full final report of the tribunal set up to investigate the suspended Auditor-General and Deputy Auditor-General, Mrs Lara Taylor-Pearce and Mr Tamba Momoh, respectively, under the Sierra Leone Right to Access Information law from the Secretary to the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as well as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. It continued that, Access to this report is a critical step towards promoting transparency, accountability, and public trust in government and judicial systems. The right of the public to information is a foundational principle of democracy, and the undersigned are committed to maintaining its protection.
“Access to this report is a critical step towards promoting transparency, accountability, and public trust in government and judicial systems. The right of the public to information is a foundational principle of democracy, and the undersigned are committed to maintaining its protection,” part of the release stated.
It furthered that they asked the Office of the President and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to respond to their requests in a timely and comprehensive manner in compliance with Section 2 of the Right to Access Information Act of 2013.
The Organizations that filed the requests are as follow: About BAN! BAN is composed of local and international organisations such as Christian Aid Sierra Leone (CASL), Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), Western Area Budget Education Advocacy Network (WABEAN), ActionAid Sierra Leone (AASL), Talking Drum Studio (TDS) and Transparency International Sierra Leone (TISL).
About the 50/50 Women’s Group, The 50/50 Group Sierra Leone is a non-partisan organization advocating for equal rights and political participation of women in Sierra Leone. About the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ). The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) is the umbrella membership body for the media in Sierra Leone established to protect and promote free speech and a free press and hold public officials accountable.
About ILRAJ, An independent non-partisan public policy research and educational think tank established to explain, monitor and contribute to the protection of human rights and the rule of law. About Citizens’ Barray Citizens’ Barray promotes civic empowerment and active civic engagement to advance social justice in Sierra Leone.
About the Eminent Women Peace Mediators-Sierra Leone (EWPM-SL), The (EWPM-SL) evolved from The Women’s Situation Room (WSR) that The Angie Brooks International Centre (ABIC) for Leadership and Women’s Empowerment in Liberia, had set up in Sierra Leone in 2012 and 2018, to monitor, prevent and mitigate elections related conflicts. The EWPM-SL has worked through two election cycles (2018 and 2023) observing local and constituency elections and setting up a situation room to monitor the 2018 and 2023 general elections.
