November 19, 2021
By Alfred Koroma
In the 2022 Finance Bill, the Ministry of Finance has proposed to establish a special disaster management fund to provide finances for the development and operation of disaster prevention, disaster risk reduction, climate change risk reduction and other disaster management programs.
The special fund will target to provide support for emergency risk disaster victims with urgency and cater for swift disaster management for any emergency response to disaster.
According to the Minister of Finance, Denis K Vandy, the funds in the special account will be managed by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) through the authority of the president and not by the Ministry of Finance.
But Section 34 of the Finance Act, which made provisions for the creation of the account, amends Section 38 of the NDMA Act of 2020 and gives the Minister of Finance power to establish and manage the special emergency account.
Members of Parliament accepted the proposal to create the account but raised concerns on the impact Section 34 of the Finance Act will have on the functions and authority of the NDMA- the country’s statutory body responsible for disaster management.
In his statement, Hon. Abdul Kargbo said that giving disaster management funds to be managed by finance ministry will be a problem while leader of the main opposition, Hon.Chernor Maju Bah noted that creating a special account for disaster management is questionable and challenging.
Speaking on the matter, Hon. P.C. Sanka Bai Kurr Kanagbaro noted that it is good to have special funds for managing disasters and advised that the funds be used for their intended purposes.
He added that funds of that nature put aside will prevent the government from having to buckle for finances in case of emergencies.
Leader of the National Grand Coalition (NGC), Hon. Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yukella, also welcomed the special fund disaster but as well questioned why the country should create a special fund when it already has an existing agency responsible for that.
The issue of who should have authority over the account became a similar concern raised by other MPs during the debate.
Responding to concerns raised by MPs, the Finance Minister said that the idea of creating the special account is just to set a basket fund somewhere that could be utilised when the urgent need arises and not to micro manage the agency. He stated that his ministry will not be a signatory to the account.
