By Ibrahim Jaffa Condeh
According to the Political Parties Registration Commission the two main political parties in Sierra Leone , the APC and SLPP, have not submitted their financial reports and the names of their external auditors by the established deadline.
Roland Ade Caesar, Commissioner of PPRC, said that any political party that does not abide by the commission's regulations risk losing their ability to participate in the political process in Sierra Leone .
Mr. Caesar said that the commission has a duty to uphold the national order. He said that if any political party fails to abide by the regulations then the commission can take that party to the Supreme Court. The court is then able to place sanctions on the party which would limit political participation.
All political parties are fully aware of their obligations to provide financial information to the commission, and have been notified by the Political Parties Registration Commission in advance of all deadlines.
National Secretary General of the Sierra Leone People's Party, Mr. Jacob Jusu Safa said they are fully aware and will try to comply. “Such are the laws of the land” he said. He added that some of the former SLPP parliamentarians and aspirants who lost in the recently concluded Parliamentary election have left the country, making it difficult for the party to compile all the financial information required of them by the deadline.
The National Publicity Secretary of People's Movement for Democratic Change, Mohamed Bangura, said that they have complied with the requests of the PPRC because the political party is well organized and structured. “One should not be surprised to hear that PMDC have complied with the rules and regulations of the PPRC” adding that, “this is the same way we are going to govern the country.”
Mr. Bangura questioned the actions of the other political parties who have yet to disclose their financial details, asking “If a political party cannot get your financial records straight, how can you run a country?”
However, efforts to get Victor Foh of the APC proved futile.
