Francis Ben: Kaifala-ACC Commissioner
A press release from the office of the Anti-Corruption Commissioner dated the 11th of July, 2022 has informed the public that the commission together with Transparency International (TI) Sierra Leone Chapter will commemorate the 6th Edition of African Anti-Corruption Day.
The release, explains that this year’s celebration marks the sixth edition of the African Anti-Corruption day and that in 2003, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique which came into effect in 2006 and has since then been ratified by 47 Member States of the African Union including Sierra Leone.
The purpose of this day is to give prominence to the fight against corruption through the commemoration of the adoption of the AUCPCC as a mechanism for fighting corruption in Africa.
“This year, we commemorate the Day on the theme ‘Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management of COVID- Funds.”
Literature has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic is not just health, humanitarian or socio-economic crisis but it is also a governance issue as countries’ resilience to accountability has been tested and hence the need for a rethinking of the roles of accountability and transparency promoting institutions and mechanisms so that they effectively support societies during pandemics. Since the pandemic started, the media has been awash with news of corruption, theft and mismanagement of funds as Governments responded to COVID-19. Unfortunately, even Sierra Leone was not exempted.
However, the ACC-SL with support from their CSO partners has been able to decisively investigate cases related to the mismanagement of COVID-19 funds and resources meant for combating the pandemic. They acted swiftly on the COVID-19 Audit Report in 2020 released by the Audit Service Sierra Leone, which highlighted issues of misuse and mismanagement of COVID-19 funds and other resources meant for combating the pandemic. In the process, the Commission was able to recover huge funds and other assets, while also recommending for administrative sanctions to be taken against public officials found culpable. We wish to register our appreciation to the Government and the People of Sierra Leone for their sustained efforts in the fight against corruption.
Remarkably also, Sierra Leone has made tremendous gains in the fight against corruption as the country currently records 83 per cent in the ‘Control of Corruption indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard and 115 out of 180 countries surveyed in the 2021 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
The ACC has also in the last four years, recovered public funds over 35 Billion Leones ($USD 3M), a two-storey hotel building and two Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles from corrupt individuals as part of the Commission’s Non-conviction based Asset Recovery approach.
The Commissioner made a clarion call for all to reflect on the true damaging consequences of corruption not only in our nation but in Africa as a whole. It is a threat to the progress and development of citizens and the country as a whole, especially at this crucial time.
Therefore, ACC and TI-SL call on ALL Sierra Leoneans to act robustly against this menace by speaking up against corruption reporting any suspected acts of corruption to the ACC and embracing integrity, transparency and accountability in public and private life.
