Africa Confidential recently released a damning report in relation to a failed 4.5 Million United States Dollars student’s hostel project at Bureh Town, a publication that attracted the attention of the Anti-Corruption Commission, which apparently launched an investigation into the issue.

Among the names of personalities were mentioned in the report was Professor David Francis, who was Chief Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister in the first administration of President Julius Maada Bio.

Prior to the publication, Professor Francis shared some email conversation with Africa Confidential with regards to his involvement in the project. After the widely circulated publication, Professor Francis eventually released to the Sierra Leone media, detailed of reply to the queries of Africa Confidential.

Prof. Francis who was at State House at the time of the initial groundwork for the IPAM Students’ Hostels Project by the University of Sierra Leone, described his role in the hostel project assigned to FEMAB a Nigerian-owned company, as limited but confirmed that he supported its realization “given its importance to the success of the Government’s Free Quality Education program.”

Prof. Francis acknowledged the convening of a meeting in his office in July 2018 during which both FEMAB and IPAM presented the hostels project and its funding framework, an event that he said, was also attended by the leadership of IPAM and the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MoOTHE).

The following year (2019), another meeting in relation to the project was again held in his office as Chief Minister at the time, specifically to clarify the funding framework for the students’ hostels project.

At this particular meeting that also attracted the leadership of the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) and the Ministry of Finance, the then Deputy Governor of the bank, Dr. Ibrahim Stevens and the Deputy Finance Minister at the time, Dr. Patricia Laverley, according to Prof. Francis confirmed that the government, through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and central bank, “cannot provide any form of fiscal guarantee for the IPAM FEMAB students’ hostels project because of the very serious implications this will have on the meagre foreign reserve of the country”.

Prof. Francis told Africa Confidential that given the demanding nature of his position as Chief Minister overseeing dozens of government Ministries and Agencies; “I was not and it was not even possible to follow- up on the day-to-day operational aspects of the IPAM-FEMAB students’ hostels project”

He said as this was the responsibility of the substantive Minister of MoTHE, all subsequent

Communications/letters on this matter were directed by his Permanent Secretary for action by – IPAM, Ministry of Finance and the w – Bank of Sierra Leone. The IPAM students’ hostels project was to later S get Cabinet approval and ratification by parliament.

Prof. Francis told Africa Confidential that, “upon receipt of your email, I have undertaken some consultations and discussions with relevant actors at USL, IPAM, BSL, Ministry of Finance and MoTHE. I am made to understand that both the leadership of the University of Sierra Leone (represented by Professor Sahr Foday, the Vice Chancellor & Principal of US.L); IPAM and FEMAB agreed in July 2023 at a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria that they will progress with the implementation of the Students’ Hostels Campus project without. Sierra Leone government sovereign guarantee.”

He asserted his support for MoTHE P projects on the basis that the  “government of President Bio launched its flagship FREE QUALITY EDUCATION (FQE) E program in August 2018, spending 22% of GDP only on the FQE program, covering primary and secondary education. As Chief Minister, I presented the scenario that the success of the FQE program will lead to huge and significant  demand from students for post- pro Secondary education, hence the  urgent need for the establishment  and construction of new universities  as well as new Hostels”.

Professor Edmond Nonie, the Deputy co Vice Chancellor, IPAM would later Bu write a letter to the Managing pe Director of FEMAB that he copied B senior university and government A officials of Sierra Leone part of which the Chief Minister shared with Africa P Confidential that says: “I write to i inform you that the Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone met with the Administrations of both IPAM and the wider University, as well as other critical stakeholders on 21st June 2022, to discuss the impasse that has led to the stagnation of the progress on the construction of proposed IPAM Bureh Town Residential Campus, three years after a contract to undertake the said project was entered into”.

Prof. Nonie went on to further apprise the FEMAB boss and others that: “The meeting concluded that amongst the constraining factors affecting the progress of the Project is the inability of government to issue a Sovereign Guarantee to FEMAB to obtain funds for the implementation of the Project. Since that has not been forthcoming, the meeting resolved that IPAM should work with FEMAB to develop an alternative, a new comprehensive financing framework that would address the impasse, an alternative that will not require any form of Bank guarantee from the government of Sierra Leone”.

Africa Confidential in a detailed report on the IPAM students’ hostels project raised accountability issues on the key players involved, including -t doubts on FEMAB the Nigerian – property developers’ ability to e undertake the project for which it had – received an advance payment of $4.3 Million remitted by the University of Sierra Leone. The project for the construction of the students’ hostels at Bureh Town, along the Freetown peninsula is said to cost $50 million. But work has still not commenced.

Africa Confidential report on the project has seen Sierra Leone’s Anti -Corruption Commission launch an investigation into the matter.

Prof. Francis served as Chief Minister until 2021 when President Julius  Maada Bio appointed him as Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone.

In his capacity as Foreign Minister till the end of the first term of the Bio – presidency, Prof. Francis won plaudits for his commitment in pursuing Sierra Leone’s bid (that eventually became successful) for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Before his political stint, he taught at Bradford University in the UK

Meanwhile FEMAB has in a statement dismissed the Africa Confidential report, insisting that issues that delayed the project have been addressed, and that construction of the hostels will materialize.