It is always a pointer at the growth and maturity of Sierra Leone’s democracy when citizen groups, including professional bodies, question the actions of the government to obtain accountability.
It is in this light that the press statement of the ICASL on the validity of the suspension of Lara Taylor-Pearce as Auditor General is welcomed. It should also be mentioned that issuing the press release to exonerate one of their members is a rightful duty for all professional bodies in a democratic state.
ICASL, however, must not fool its membership or the public that the holes in their defense of the suspended Auditor General will go unnoticed in all circles in the country.
For those who are prone to being hoodwinked by the ICASL Press Statement, let it be said that the case against the suspended Auditor General cannot be squashed on the question of her application of accounting rules and techniques.
Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce is highly qualified and experienced. The case against her is not about applying “international best practice accounting rules and techniques.” The office of Auditor General that Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce occupied is a public office and therefore bound to be judged and evaluated on the basis of the expectations of being a public servant. In essence, the suspension of the Auditor General occurred due to suspicions of betrayal or a breach of these expectations. The specifics of the issues therein were laid before a special tribunal to ascertain or reject.
The legal process through which finality will be brought to the Auditor General’s case is yet to conclude.
As one of the last acts, Parliament is going to make a decision to concur or not with the guilty verdict already reached by the tribunal that investigated her. The tribunal, with the competence and powers of a superior court under the Constitution of Sierra Leone, has already decided that the case against her is valid.
Any reference to international accounting standards by ICASL and others is a diversionary ploy. It does not even help her case anymore. By questioning the verdict reached by the tribunal with dubious reference to “international best practice accounting rules and techniques,” you will only wrong Mrs. Lara Taylor-Pearce.
We live in a Trump-type environment today in Sierra Leone where the decisions of governance institutions are only valid and respected when they reflect our partisan whims. By questioning the verdict reached by a Commission with the competence and powers of a high court under the Constitution of Sierra Leone, using dubious reference to “international best practice accounting rules and techniques,” ICASL is only mobilizing a certain constituency to disrespect the due process that the suspended Auditor General has been accorded.
Indeed, hours after the ICASL press release, the opposition APC issued their own statement indicating their intention to exonerate the suspended Auditor General when the matter comes up for vote in Parliament later in the next few weeks. In the press statement, the APC used evidence from ICASL as one of the sources of evidence and guidance for their stance. While there is no point questioning the APC’s stance and its basis, the timing of the two press statements begs the question about possible collaboration to help the suspended Auditor General escape punishment
