Suspension of SLRSA Executive Director Unjustified
By Alusine Sesay
A senior staff of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority (SLRSA) has on Monday described the decision of the Board of Directors to indefinitely suspend the Executive Director, Ibrahim Sannoh, as groundless.
The source who spoke on anonymity said that Sannoh had been working tirelessly to transform the institution and ensure that the government and people of Sierra Leone benefit from programs and projects undertaken by the institution. He said that Sannoh is one of the most patriotic Executive Directors the Authority has ever had, and he believes that Sannoh believes in doing the right thing and has been very stubborn for the truth.
This is the second time the Executive Director has been suspended indefinitely by the Board when he was out of the Country.
He said that under Sannoh’s stewardship, the authority has developed the Country’s first biometric driver’s license; developed a Strategic Plan in line with the UN Global Action Plan; over alarming rates of road accidents across the Country mostly attributed to drunk driving, the SLRSA instituted the use of breathalyzers to test the rate of alcohol contents in drivers; launched the Electronics Registration system (e-Fitness); and forged partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria in his indefatigable efforts to ensure road safety, among others.
The source urged President Julius Maada Bio to look into the issue, and reinstate Sannoh to ensure reforms and transformation of the Authority.
In a letter dated November 4, 2021, “the Board of Directors in an emergency meeting on November 3, unanimously found you [Sannoh] liable of the following: insubordination to the persons and authority of the Chairman, Board of Directors; disrespectful to the Deputy Minister, Chairman, board member reverend Mustapha Janneh, and to the Senior Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Aviation; putting that authority into disrepute; deliberately stalling the implementation of a contract between the government of Sierra Leone and Autospect, and making unsubstantiated claims against the Board Chairman with a view to damaging his hard earned reputation to right thinking members of the public.”
The Chairman, Board of Directors, SLRSA, Sheikh M. Bawoh said in the letter: “Following further consultation with the Minister, the Board of Directors have, therefore deemed it fit to suspend you indefinitely with immediate effect. You are admonished to return all documents and property belonging to the authority in your possession.”
“By Copy of this letter, the deputy Executive Director is mandated to act as Executive Director until further notice,” the Board Chairman said in the suspension letter.
