Below is the press release.

PRESS RELEASE

CHRDI IS NOT A FAKE ORGANISATION

Following the incorrect claims made by the Leader of Parliament, Hon. Ibrahim Bundu and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Chernor Bah about the credibility of CHRDI, we are hereby making our international registration certificate and our local community based organisation certificate available to the public.

We also want the Honourable members of Parliament and the general public to know that after 356 weeks and 6 days of Campaign for Human Rights and Development Sierra Leone (CHRDSL), we officially became Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) in June 2016.

Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to seek, to advocate, support and conduct non-partisan research , education, and communication activities to increase public awareness on the right to participate in the development of their communities and the country as a whole and build a better world for the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.

We also have Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and are accredited to many UN Agencies.

CHRDI firmly believes and is actively involved in promoting participatory democracy, accountability, gender equity through poor people’s social, economic, political and human capacity building.

As a respectable Rights based social-policy advocacy Organisation, our duty is to draw the attention of duty-bearers to upholding human rights, and seek to support rights-holders to claim their rights.

We at CHRDI think that such energies used by Parliamentarians in their attempt to discredit us, should have been put in a meaningful dialogue with the populace because we believe that Parliamentarians are servants of the people for whom they make laws. They are not exempt from the laws they pass and Parliamentarians are reminded that they are not above the law but subject equally to the law in similar manner as their constituents.

Moreover, it is a fundamental right of any citizen to ask questions of their Parliamentary representative if they have reason for concern.

Accountability to the general public for taxpayers’ money is an inextricable part of good public management and democratic governance. It can provide assurance over Parliament’s activities, highlight improvement actions, and improve policy-making in Sierra Leone. Effective accountability can also identity who is responsible if something goes wrong and enable redress.

In view of all of the above, we hope the House of Parliament and the Honourable members will now endeavour to provide the people of Sierra Leone all the parliamentary expenditures for the past five years and hope they are not going to find a way to dismiss this other call with more accusations.

Abdul M Fatoma
Chief Executive
CHRDI 
11-08-2016

© CHRDI-HUMAN RIGHTS BRIEF

See document below.