May 25, 2021
BY MOHAMED M. SESAY (LUCKY)
Just like my Editor-In-Chief Albert Baron Ansu rightly hypothesized in his ‘’ Sunakati effect set in” commentary wherein, ‘’ Sierra Leoneans Killing Sierra Leoneans”, that unchanging syndrome of that commentary has been visible in the ongoing National Civil Registration, Confirmation and Verification process wherein contracted staff of NCRA are wrongfully extorting monies from Sierra Leoneans for an expeditious registration, verification and confirmation process of personal data.
The Courier has been introspecting since I uncovered that there are some unscrupulous Sierra Leoneans who are just bent on sabotaging government related activities, and equally adding additional burden on their Sierra Leonean counterparts in the progressive Civil Registration, Verification and Confirmation exercise. I just want to hasten to inform that the ongoing National Civil Registration Authority’s registration, verification and confirmation has been characterized by a well-coordinated commercialized syndicated wherein, some misguided contracted workers are extorting monies from Sierra Leoneans in order to expedite the registration process for them, and also unnecessarily delaying the process for some people who refused to yield to their criminal enterprise.
Having acted on series of complaints and concerns raised by some members of the public regarding the massive commercialization of the NCRA registration exercise, the Courier made a clandestine- undercover investigation at the Robert Street confirmation and verification center.
It will fascinate you to realize that I burst into a scene of systemic corruption at the Robert Street Registration and Confirmation Center, witnessing monies extorted from people in order to fast-track the process. I saw only one active machine meant to service hundreds of people at that community. The queue for that Single machine was extremely longish and windy and children were suffering in the hot burning sun. Probing further out of my curiosity, I unearthed that another machine was actually kept in the big parlor of the Robert Street Community Center which was used on commercial purpose. The indoor machine was mainly used to resister, verify and confirm individuals who paid their Le 10,000, Le 20,000 as the case may be, while the outdoor Machine was barely used to service the poor stranded masses who had no means to pay for the registration, verification and confirmation of their personal details.
I pretended to be one of the selected few going for the paid up registration process and stupidly enough for the contracted workers, they gave me a safe sailing access into the secret society bush (the paid for registration room) specially established for people who will pay so that their personal details will be verified, registered and confirmed with ease.
Having entered the self-established room, I unsuspectingly stood there for over one hour and took photos unnoticed to all the NCRA contracted workers receiving monies from people. I stood in that room making participant observations of people coming in and going out, when hundreds of the poor masses including children were grounded in the hot burning sun fighting for Registration or confirmation of their personal details.
Away from the Registration and Confirmation being commercialized, another thing the Courier observed at the center is the misplaced and self-made priority that were accorded to some people who just went late and lobbied for Registration through favoritism and self-centered selection and they are given access.
It is evident that the Nation Civil Registration Authority gave an established priority to Person’s Living with Disability, the Aged, Pregnant woman and Children. However, I equally observed that the misplaced priority that was given to some people never fell within the broader spectrum of the NCRA’s priority list. A gentleman presented himself at the center claiming to be a police officer even though he was not in a uniform and forced his way for Registration and Confirmation leaving so many ill-feelings on people he me.
“Connectocracy” was also visible at the Robert Street center wherein, relatives, friends and family members where sending their personal details to be registered and confirmed in absentia. I consider the above as petty corruption to the highest magnitude.
Moreover, the Courier also made another curious observation at the St. Edward Primary School Fort Street wherein, my observation equally unearthed brazen commercialization of the Registration process just as in the case of Robert Street. The only difference between Robert Street and St. Edwards Primary School was that, those Registration Officers at St. Edwards Primary School were very smart enough in terms of doing their own thing. They had an intermediary who negotiated with their clients so the process could be expedited for them. Misplaced priority was also pervasive at the two centers wherein, wrong preferential treatment were accorded to the wrong people. I saw unquantifiable Registration slips with one of the contracted staff of NCRA and when interrogated, he told me that he was doing all of those absentia Registration and Confirmation for all the family members and friends of his immediate boss.
Just from the St. Edwards Primary School, I also proceeded my observations to the Government
Model School Circular Road. To my astonishment, I did not experience anything like commercialization of the Registration process at the Government Model Secondary School. The center was somehow sanitized and very much organized during the time of my surreptitious visit. Also, getting one on one chat with the people who went for the Registration and Confirmation, they were at least partially pleased with the process even though the queue was very long and the process very slow. The aspect of misplaced priority was also not visible at Model during my time of visit. The verification Officer at the Model Government School lamented their sporadic challenges ranging from power shortage etc and assured that they were doing their best towards the process by catering for everyone to be captured in the NCRA permanent civil registration data.
With the exception of Government Model School, the above mentioned centers visited were preoccupied with petty corruption activities thereby, created unnecessary constraints for people. On that note, I would suggest the Scorpion Team of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to start taking some of these petty corruptions into consideration. It is unarguable that petty corruption has engulfed the system- an everyday abuse of entrusted power by low- and mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens in accessing basic services in places like hospitals, schools, police departments.
I will therefore end by recommending to NCRA to be sending monitoring teams across all centers so that this ill motivated behavior perpetuated by the devils incarnate in their midst could be remedied. I emphasize for constant NCRA Monitoring Team across all centers because Sierra Leone has now reached to a stage wherein, we take advantage of any given situation to impose an unjustifiable hardship and constraints on ordinary citizens for personal aggrandizement. I also want to commend NCRA for the re-extension of the registration process, which is justified as many citizens have not been served. I can authoritative say that thousands of Sierra Leoneans in the Western Area have not registered especially when the NCRA registration collided with the National Commission for Social Action’s (NaCSA) free money disbursement to petty traders.