AYV News, January 29, 2025
Sierra Leone’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Honourable Ibrahim Tawa Conteh, has ordered the deduction of NLe42,000 from the salary of the Director of the Malaria and Disease Control Programme, Dr.Roland Suluku, for adding five enumerators without supporting documents.
Hon. Conteh, also serving as Chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC) in Parliament, ordered the Clerk to write a letter to the Accountant General to execute the deduction.
In the implementation of a project, the Malaria Control Team was supposed to engage 18 enumerators but the retirement stated that 23 enumerators were trained and engaged for the execution of the project.
Hon. Conteh then asked the Clerk to do the multiplications of the monies given to the five undocumented enumerators which summed up to NLe42,000.
PAC was probing the Ministry of Health and Sanitation on some of the issues raised in the 2023 Audit Report by Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL).
Malaria remains a serious public health challenge causing immense morbidity and mortality in Sierra Leone. However, substantial Malaria control investments have been made in the country in the last decade with much progress made over the years that has led to decline in malaria cases and deaths.
The Malaria Control Strategic Plan 2016-2020 gives direction towards the improvement of the health status of the population and the fight against poverty by reducing the burden of the disease. The Plan was developed based on the recommendations of the malaria programme review 2013 and is aligned to the guiding principles of the broader National Health Sector Strategic Plan (NHSSP 2010-2015), Sierra Leone Health Recovery Plan 2015–2020, National Ebola Strategy for Sierra Leone 2015-2017 and the Basic Package of Essential Health Services 2010 (revised 2015).
It defines strategies to be implemented to achieve the goals and objectives set for malaria control in Sierra Leone.
