As President Ernest Bai Koroma sets up his cabinet, the Director for the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Group (SLCMP), Mohamed Suma has urged the new Parliament to promulgate code of ethics for senior members of the executive and leading government officials.
He pointed out that officials dismissed for breach of ethics should be disqualified from holding public office and that alleged breaches of ethics should be investigated by a constituted body with the required capacity.
The SLCMP Director stated that these recommendations are in line with those put forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Mr Suma said that the TRC also recommended that candidates and political parties should disclose money raised and sources thereof and that appropriate limits be placed on contributions to political campaigns while no party is favoured over another by an organ of State. He said that the new government should broaden representation on the Judicial Services Commission; and increase representation of the Bar, appoint magistrates and prosecutorial attorneys in each district and separate the Office of the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice.
The SLCMP boss also directed that an autonomous judiciary with budgetary independence be created according to recommendations of the TRC and Local courts be incorporated into the judicial system. He also highlighted key recommendations of the TRC which had recommended that all political parties should ensure that at least 10% of their candidates for all public elections are youths and transform the Ministry of Youth and Sports into a National Youth Commission.
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