By: Christian Conteh
Hot, dark and uncomfortable are words that best describe the current facility housing Sierra Leone’s Law Reform Commission at the Special Court premise, New England Ville in Freetown.
The Commission which was set up by an act of parliament in 1994 and amended in 1996 has as its core function reviewing all the laws of Sierra Leone and recommending reforms to expunge obsolete provisions and to generally modernise the country’s laws. It started operation in 2003.
Lack of electricity, no water supply, lack of adequate office equipment’s and administrative squabbles make work almost impossible for most members of staff.
In a letter dated 24th January 2022 staff members of the commission wrote to the Secretary to the President appealing for intervention. This they say comes after exhausting all internal mechanisms to resolve the problem between the secretary and the chairman of the commission.
According to them the crisis at the commission has pushed the commission to the brink of total collapse.
“We have decided to write you because we, as members of staff have exhausted all internal mechanisms to resolve the problem between the Secretary of the Commission and the Chairman of the Commission.
Sir as we write to you today, 24th January 2022, the Commission has gone without internet for at least four months and electricity since early December 2021. This has made it impossible for us to carry out our official functions,” a press statement from concerned workers read.
The members of staff noted that in August of 2021 they wrote a memorandum to the secretary after many verbal attempts calling for a review of their grading system failed.
In December of 2021, they said they also engaged the secretary on issues including but not limited to the constant lack of electricity a state of affairs the secretary blamed the accountant for.
In January of 2022 upon resumption of work to the dismay of workers their challenges have not been addressed.
Idrissa Kargbo is Principal Legal Research Officer at the Law Reform Commission, speaking in an interview he said recent events are an existential threat to the Law Reform Commission.
“What we are facing now is an existential threat, there is a threat to the existence of the commission. The crux of the problem is the lack of corporation between the Secretary and Chairperson of the commission,” Kargbo said.
He further noted that the lack of corporation between the Chairman and the Secretary has made it impossible for them to work. For this reason, they call for intervention from the Office of the President.
“There is no electricity in the office, there is no water, even to use the toilets. Government is pouring hundreds of millions on this commission, and we have to assist government to actualise its projects and programmes,” he said.
