By Amin Kef Sesay
Recently, one of the country’s local tabloids published a baseless story in which it was indicated that the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) received a whooping sum of Le44 Billion from the Government of Sierra Leone but there is not much to show how the money has so far been expended.
With such a startling revelation this medium was prompted to thoroughly confirm the veracity of the allegation. It was confirmed beyond all reasonable doubts that the NCRA has never received the sum of Le 44 billion from the Government of Sierra Leone. What was also ascertained and proven to be baseless was the allegation that the Eastern Region was abandoned during the ongoing verification exercise said to be a calculated attempt to paint the institution in a bad light.
From what was learnt, the confirmation exercise was done in phases, from Western Area to the North, South, and North-West.
The exercise was put on hold in the East due to the rains and pretty soon a new date would be announced for the resumption of the exercise. Interestingly what was understood was that the disbursement of funds from the office of the Accountant General is only done by regions making it rather impossible for such an amount to be misappropriated when in actual fact that sum of money was never disbursed.
Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, who is the current Director General of the NCRA is said to have worked with both local and international organizations, including the United Nations putting him at a vantage position to properly interact with partners in very fruitful ways.
It is said that in just three years, the Director General has transformed the NCRA into one of the most enviable institutions in the country to the admiration of many.
DG Massaquoi has assured of providing reliable data to support public administration and good governance across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies. He has also engaged local and tribal heads on births and deaths registration services both in the Western Area and Provincial Areas across the country.
Moreover, in his bid to provide a lasting solution to the demands of Sierra Leoneans on the issue of the Biometric Identity Cards the Authority has embarked on the confirmation and registration exercises across the country as plans are in advanced stage for the provision of those cards.
The Director General’s efforts it is said is not only felt within the country, but in the West African Sub-region, where in August 2019 he launched Africa’s First Blockchain and Decentralized National Identity Platform.
