By: Ilyasa Baa
The relationship between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Audit Service Sierra Leone has been likened to a Catholic marriage, inseparably getting along for the good of the country.
The Public Relations Officer, ACC, Sylvanus Blake said the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties was renewed last November giving the Commission more power to delve into matters arising from the work of the Auditors of the Audit Service.
” Going forward, we no longer wait for the publication of the annual Audit report itself before we take action, ” said the Commission’s Deputy Spokesman during an interview on an online channel, recently.
He noted that the ACC can act on gist from the Audit Service while the auditing is going on which was not the case before, he added.
He said the Commission, a couple of days ago, conducted raids on strategic entities on tax retirement to ascertain what is being done in that direction for the year 2022. He pointed out that the fire brigade way of fighting corruption is no more as the Commission is using the prevention approach through a lot of cases that have been taken to court.
He described the findings in the 2021 Audit Report as not new to the Commission. He said corruption has been systemic which is why system reviews are conducted as a way of preventing corruption in the country.
Blake has been in the Commission for fourteen years before President Bio appointed Francis Ben Keifala. He said the fight against corruption now has been the fiercest in the history of the Commission. He implored members of the public to join the fight against corruption by having no fear to report the menace.