Over Generator Saga… Chinese Embassy Clears the Air

By Amin Kef Sesay

Since the release of the 2019 Audit Report and the COVID-19 Audit Report there had been a lot of public debate in relation to the 50KVA generator that was donated by the Chinese Government in order to help in the fight against COVID-19.

In a telephone conversation with the Head of Political Section in the Chinese Embassy, Hu Aimin, he disclosed to The Calabash Newspaper that the debate that has been generated over the donation of the Chinese Government donated 50KVA generator came about as a result of a typographical error which took place during the documentation process, furthering that it was indeed a 65KVA generator that they donated but during the documentation process it was tagged as 50KVA and none of the two parties checked to ascertain.

The Head of Political Section at the Embassy, Hu Aimin, confirmed to this medium that it was a technical error during the documentation process of the donated item further revealing that it was a 65KVA generator they donated to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

This clarification came in the wake of generator saga that has dominated arguments among Sierra Leoneans as to whether it was a 50kv or 65kv generator that was donated by the Chinese Government to the Government of Sierra Leone geared towards the fight against the COVID-19 in the country.

On their part, the Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL), during a Press Conference convened on Thursday 7^th January 2021 to make certain clarifications on issues raised in the 2019 Audit Report and the 2020 COVID-19 Report, the Deputy Auditor General, Tamba Momoh revealed that something is supposed to be missing when as per record it is supposed to be there but not being there is considered to be missing, adding that on the 19^th March 2020 the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone made a donation to the Government of Sierra Leone towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country which included the generator, furthering that the Ministry of Health prepared a receipt note which was signed by both parties demonstrating that they have received the following items: Five Hundred (500) Set of protective gowns, five Hundred (500) N95 Masks, One Thousand (1000) Surgical Masks, One Thousand (1000) medical gloves, two Hundred (200) medical goggles and one (1) 50KVA Generator.

He added that when the auditors requested for the said generator to be made available they were told by the Ministry of Health officials that the Generator has been taken to Zimmi and when they went to Zimmi they found a 65KVA generator which according to them was contradictory.

In another development, during a Press Conference, convened by the Anti-Corruption Commission on the 12th January 2021 which was held its Conference Room on Gloucester Street, the institution’s Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala updated members of the media on the Auditor General’s Report 2019 as well as the COVID-19 Audit report.

He disclosed that as far as they are aware the Audit captured a 65 kva generator that was seen and not a 50kva generator which led to suspicion that the latter was missing.

Ben Kaifala said they acted on that saying their findings were the same with Audit-Sierra Leone stressing that the Certificate relating to the generator that was provided to the auditors proved that it was a 50kva generator that was donated by the Chinese Government.

The ACC boss said they thoroughly investigated the issue and after looking at it in its totality they were clear that it was indeed the 65kva generator that the Chinese donated which is the same that was discovered at Zimmi. He said there must have been a discrepancy in the recording on the certificate.