At the ongoing trial of Mayor Herbert A.G. Williams and eight others versus the state, the prosecution has presented their fifth witness who testified that the procurement unit at the Freetown City Council (FCC) was not involved in organizing the Morgan Heritage concert at the National Stadium on 28th and 29th December 2010.
This statement was made yesterday at the high court presided over by Justice JBA Katutsi, by prosecution witness Mr. Fudie Konneh, head of procurement unit from April 2008 to April 2011 at FCC, and now procurement officer at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
“As a procurement officer at FCC I was charged with the responsibility to see the day to day administration of procurement activities and to advice the entity on procurement relating activities,” he says.
The witness disclosed that there was a permanent committee made up of five members of which three are permanent members and the two are revolving members (the Chairman/vote controller and the head of account or procurement officer/representative from procurement unit at FCC.)
According to the witness, generally the procurement of works, goods and services depends on the various thresholds, they start with an end user as approved by the procurement unit for services that cost below sixty million Leones (Le 60m) a procurement method called shopping or request for quotation for service above sixty million Leones (Le60m) and stops. At three hundred million Leones (Le 300m) the national competitive bidding method is used and above three hundred million Leones (Le 300m) international competitive bidding is used.
He explained that for both the national and international competitive bidding, an advert is made for proposal for undertaking service, adding that there is a relationship between FCC and the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) in terms of monitoring and supervision.
Mr. Konneh stated that for procurement of work, goods and services above Le 60m, or out of the shopping method for emergencies, they require a procurement waiver from NPPA requesting in writing justifying the need for such activity undertaken within the stipulated time.
“In relation to the Morgan Heritage concert, the FCC procurement unit was not formally involved as a result I cannot give detailed explanation as the Unit was not properly involved, as an independent committee was set up by FCC to organize the Morgan Heritage concert” he said.
In cross examination by lawyer Yada Williams, the witness stated that an institution needs to go through procurement when investing money, depending on the nature of the business if it involves work, goods and services given that it is public funds.
Mr. Konneh further said that he cannot attest to the fact that FCC threshold of coming with the Morgan Heritage Group was a way of making profit as he was not part of the arrangement, adding that he was aware of the fact that FCC intended to buy buses but not precisely from proceeds of the Morgan Heritage show.
In answering the question on whether it is right to say that FCC took the view that in organizing the Morgan Heritage concert they did not need the involvement of procurement issue, the witness stated that he cannot simply attest to that because he was not part of the planning team.
The witness agreed with lawyer Williams that the principal reason why FCC went for Morgan Heritage is because of their origin from Sierra Leone, but answered in the negative on the question that the unique connection of the group does not belong to any other group.
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