All the social media write-ups you’re seeing in the social media are the works of certain officials at the Sierra Leone Football Association; (SLFA), this is according to the Minister of Sports Ibrahim Nyelenkeh who was speaking to this medium via telephone yesterday.
According to the Minister, officials of the Sierra Leone Football Association are busy using the social media to discredits his Ministry for their selfish purpose without going through the appropriate channel.
According to Ibrahim Nyelenkeh, there are laydown procedures set up by the Ministry of Finance for every procurement rules; of which the Sierra Leone Football Association disobeyed in the procurement of tickets for match officials for the Lesotho match.
“There are Lay-down procurement rules by the Ministry of Finance for all procurement related issues,” he said.
“The biggest problem I am having with SLFA officials is that they went ahead and procured tickets for match officials without the recognition of IATA which is one of the criteria from the Ministry of Finance.”
“They also failed to involved procurement officials of the Ministry of Sports which should have advised them the laydown procedures.
“Where do they procure those tickets,” he asked, noting that the Finance Ministry will never pay such money unless they produced the IATA to the Finance Ministry, this is the standstill we are having with the Sierra Leone Football Association.” He enthused.
It could be recalled that the beneath article flooded the social media last week wherein the faceless author was calling on the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the Ministry of Sports.
Competent sources at the Anti-Corruption Commission have revealed to this medium that the Commission is currently investigating officials of the Ministry of Sports over funding allocated to the Ministry of sports for the Leone Stars vs Lesotho and Benin matches played early last month.
According to the ACC authorities, the Commission has received persistent complaints from Airliners and Hotel owners of the Ministry owing them over Four hundred million Leones in debts.
The sources further added that the ACC has contacted the Ministry of Finance and they were told that the Ministry of Sports were fully funded by the government with over five billion Leones paid into their account to fund the two Leone stars matches.
‘We are surprised to learn that these monies have been fully paid to the sports ministry and they as a ministry continue to hold on to such payments” the sources maintained.
When this reporter contacted the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sports for his comments, he admitted that indeed the Ministry owed some hotel managements and airline authorities as a result of what he referred to as ‘ Procurement’ procedures at his ministry. What however baffles this reporter was that the said procurement procedures were never followed during the Leone stars trip to Benin in which monies were fully paid by the bloated Ministry of sports delegation that travelled in Cotonou.
Our sources at the Ministry of sports further revealed that the Hon Minister Ibrahim Nylenkeh has given several instructions to senior officials at his ministry to effect these payments but yet they always turned a blind eye to the instructions of the Minister. ”
It seem as if some senior officials at the sports ministry are bent on not only undermining the good work of Hon Nylenkeh but are ready to frustrate all his efforts to present his ministry in a clean slate in the eyes of the general public ” the sources concluded.
The Minister has rubbished the allegations as blatant lies.