Post a comment
The Member of Parliament for Constituency 097, Hon. Edward George has been accused of embezzling community funds meant for the development of his constituency.
A total of 1,121,181,000.00 is alleged to have been misappropriated by Hon. George moneys paid as surface rent for constituency 097. The Member of Parliament who hails from Moyamba District is currently battling between the deep Blue Sea and the devil with series of scandal hanging over his head.
Resident of Constituency 097 have accused the sitting Honourable of misappropriating constituency funds citing anomalies in his activities.
“We have two mining companies that are operating in our Constituency (Sierra Rutile-ILUKA and Sierra Mineral Holdings Ltd – VIMETCO), and for the past three years, our Member of Parliament Hon. Edward George have been Collecting surface rent without putting the money into development activities. These funds are meant for Constituency Development Fund (CDF) on our behalf without undertaking any development. This is not good for the constituency,” according to the letter sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The Anti-Corruption Commission is now in receipt of a letter of complaint sent to the Anti-graft Agency about the funds the Member of Parliament is alleged to have converted to his own personal use.
The Constituency in question is a multi-chiefdom Constituency and the Member of Parliament according to information gathered was supposed to set up a committee that constitute representatives of the three chiefdoms to manage funds which he has failed to do so.
The MP is also accused of hailing from Mano Dasse Chiefdom and Mano that is not affected by any mining operation.
Hon. George is said to have always gone and collect the cheques and disappeared only to resurface when the mining companies are distributing cheques to the land owners.
“We the members of constituency 097 don’t want to continue in direction as there is no evidence of development in the Upper and Lower Banta Chiefdoms where the mining operations are taking place.”
The letter to the ACC further read thus: Commissioner, our people do not deserve this type of punishment and the reason for voting him to represent us should not be betrayed.
The Mines and Minerals Act was not drafted and enacted in the interest of our people, the only thing they rely on is the CDF. The few tangible things our MP can show case as development, is the house he has built in Mano for himself and the one he is building around the peninsular in Freetown and of course the bottles of bleaching cream in front of his dressing mirror.
Hon. George is also accused to have acquired five used vehicles within these three years and using the funds collected on behalf of his people from mining companies.
The letter also stated that the people of Constituency 097 recognized and appreciates the stride of the Commission in the fight to curb corruption in Sierra Leone but with the activities of a sitting Member of Parliament such effort are been undermined.
“It is against this backdrop that members of constituency 097 have written a letter of complaint drawing the attention of the Commission to the deprivation of the people of Upper and Lower Banta are going through as a result of the corrupt practice of the Member of Parliament.
Hon. Edward George has not denied the claims nor refutes them rather claiming that his accusers have no identification.
“I cannot respond to a letter that has no author and I need the people accusing me to face me. I know this is politics and people who want my position are the ones accusing me,” Hon. Edward George said.
