Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The resent review into procurement matters at PFMU in the ministry of finance by the Independent Procurement Review Panel’s (IPRP) has exposed that Mr. Robert Kowa, the Solicitor General (SG)— the lead attorney responsible for representing the government in litigations is also a member of the IPRP. What remains questionable is how can the SG allow himself to serve in both roles with such a clear conflict of interest.
The IPRP is responsible for reviewing complaints brought against government on matters involving public procurement activities. IPRP issues rulings on these matters. Based on the merits of a particular matter, the ruling can either be in favor of government or against government. Either party— government or a private party can sometimes decide to litigate the matter ruled on by IPRP in the court of law.
When government is sued, the SG is the lead lawyer responsible for representing the government in those cases. The conflict arises in cases where the IPRP may have issued a ruling that the parties disagree with. If government or the private party decides to seek further redress after such a ruling, the SG will represent the government in the same matter.
The big question is how well will the SG represent the government in a matter he has participated in ruling on as part of the IPRP panel? Records show that the SG has lost cases in courts brought against the government after IPRP rulings.
Many of these cases relate to procurement matters having millions of dollars at stake. The SG should do the right thing to resign immediately from the IPRP or as SG. And if not, the government should take away one of the roles from the SG immediately.
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