February 17, 2021
ACC Team in Kono addressing the people of Chesseneh community
By: Problyn Alpha (Kono)
“We will take the fight against corruption to every community as distance is not a barrier. Everyone counts in this national campaign.” This statement was made by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Manager Hawanatu O. Kamara in Kono District, during an engagement with local stakeholders and other members of Chesseneh community in Kameindor Section, Mafindor Chiefdom.
The occasion at Chesseneh, according to the Manager was a sensitization programme implemented by the ACC to adequately inform the community members about corruption and establish the urgent need for them to join the collective crusade against the threat. She explained further that corruption has protracted development strides in the country, and Sierra Leoneans need appropriate information and knowledge to stem and control this ‘national security threat.’
She disclosed that corruption had become deep-rooted to such an extent that it sadly gained tacit approval in many quarters particularly across the public sector. While pinpointing some of the harmful effects of the menace with specific reference to rural communities, Mrs. Kamara assured Chesseneh that the Commission has tightened measures to stem the tide of corruption for the common good.
In addition to the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as Amended in 2019 as a robust measure to defeat corruption, she made mention of partnerships the Commission has forged with institutions and organizations across the country. The Manager stressed that partnerships, as a strategy, implies that the fight against corruption will be easily won through well-coordinated collective engagements at every layer of the country’s Public and Private Sectors. Therefore, she encouraged the local stakeholders in particular to assume ownership of and leadership in the fight against corruption in Chesseneh at all times.
Making his contribution, ACC Public Education Officer (PEO), Aiah P.M. Sourie, informed everyone in the meeting that the Commission has striven to make corruption a very expensive enterprise. He cited and explained some of the offences in the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019, highlighting the corresponding penalties and encouraging the stakeholders to endeavor to resist corruption as a sign of productive leadership within the community.
The PEO encouraged the Chesseneh community to consider the fight against corruption as a civic obligation. It therefore behooves all Sierra Leoneans, he said, to understand the harmful effects of corruption with regard to national interests, and take responsibility to reverse the status quo. ‘Although corruption has been around for a very long time, we as Sierra Leoneans can win the fight against it. And there is no better time for Chesseneh to start working towards scoring this win than now,’ Mr. Sourie said assuredly.
The Chief of Chesseneh, Idriss Andipor, in response said that he was pleased to have hosted the ACC and benefited from the discussions of the meeting. He confessed that his community would have remained ignorant of corruption and the Commission’s leadership actions in the fight against it, if the ACC’s Public Education Unit in the District had not paid a visit. “Our community is distant from Koidu City as it sits on the border with the Republic of Guinea. In most cases, we are less informed about the activities of the ACC. However, we have been educated and we are happy” the Chief said.
