Ship registration scam hits maritime

It has been observed that Management of Sierra Leone Maritime Administration is not properly accounting for vessels/ships registration fees.
 The Executive Director Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Alhaji Wurror Jalloh (in photo) is reportedly refusing to make public the amount paid by owners of ships registered under the Sierra Leone Flag.
Sources say from year 2000 to date, a total of about 500 ships have registered under the Sierra Leone flag and have been paying thousands of US dollars to SLMA annually.
In an interview with Director Wurror in June of this year, questions concerning huge fees paid by ships registered under the Green, White and Blue flag were raised and subsequently ignored.
During last week’s press briefing of the Ministry of Information, the Director catalogued successes and challenges of SLMA but made no mention of monies paid by ship owners at all.
Government and the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) must insist that a detailed account of vessel registration be produced for the sake of accountability and transparency.
 It would be recalled that the erstwhile SLMA Director Philip Lukulay, was convicted and charged to pay millions of Leones as fines for financial impropriety.
Source: Sierra Express Media