By John Brima
David Sengeh, Sierra Leone’s chief minister, and a relative have been implicated in an audit linked to World Bank-funded education projects, according to claims made by political analyst Dr John Idriss Lahai.
Lahai said Ambrose T. Sesay, the brother-in-law of Sengeh, has lost his position as national head of the government’s Free Education Project following the findings.
Sesay previously served as project coordinator for the Free Education Project Secretariat under the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, overseeing the implementation of the Free Quality School Education programme. The initiative is supported by international partners including the World Bank and the European Union.
According to Lahai, World Bank auditors carried out an unannounced visit to Freetown and discovered that more than $81 million of project funds had been misappropriated. He further alleged that Sesay was dismissed by President Julius Maada Bio following the findings.
Lahai also claimed that Sengeh is under scrutiny because he served as minister of basic and senior secondary education at the time when initial disbursements for the programme were made.
The presidency and relevant authorities have not publicly confirmed the allegations, and Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Lahai said the government now faces pressure to act, warning that failure to respond could lead to sanctions from the World Bank.
Officials at the presidency and the education ministry were not immediately available for comment.
