Representative from the Africanist Press has disclosed that the Sierra Leone Government now have 21 cases filed against them by the New York Department of Buildings and one of those cases is already in court.
According to him, the main money that were supposed to have been transferred to the renovation of the Embassy in New York was spent in something else without transferring any amount in 2018 to New York.
He added that it was in 2019, they saved up some money and even collected some from Central Bank and send it to New York, which is over 3.6 million dollars and that money was not used for the intended purpose when it arrived to the point that the renovation was not completed for two years and now, they are in court.
He added that the court is now waiting for the Sierra Leone Government to enter their representation and if it takes more than sixty days, they know where they will pass the verdict.
He furthered; they have served the Sierra Leone Government for about four times at least but the Government have not responded.
The representative said, the Africanist Press found out that the contractor whom they hired for the renovation, was sold, so the contractor has filed a cross claim against the government that he will not take any blame if they find him responsible, as it is, as a result of the negligence of the Sierra Leone mission and the diplomats in New York.
He mentioned that the contractor also said, he has transferred responsibility for the non-completion of the people who have endangered the neighbors to the people who gave him the contract, adding that it only means that the contractor was hired but might have not been paid.
He explained that when they had published about the 3.6 million the government transferred to new york, they decided to date their evidence back, because they want to blame the APC people that it is something they inherit from them, as that is their usual strategy.
He added that they made sure they presented the origin of the funds Sierra Leone government received before the Bio’s administration and when those funds were withdrawn.
“We did not just write the money they transferred to New York but we showed the origin of the funds. Those moneys were moneys given to Sierra Leone by the Chinese Government. One payment came on march 2018, the other May or June 2018 and these moneys remained in the account up to inauguration of the Bio administration in 2018. So, withdrawal of that money started after the inauguration between may, June and up to September and December of 2018. All of those moneys were gone and we even have records of how they spent it”. He said.
He ended by affirming that Four million dollars have been used by this government for a supposed renovation that was not done so they have to account for that, but they want to put all the blame on their political opponent, the APC.