February 17, 2021
By: Problyn Alpha
The Public Education Unit of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) office in Kenema has held a customized meeting with the management and staff of the Kenema Government Hospital to identify and address corruption issues in the operations of the hospital and its peripheral health units.The meeting, which took place on Tuesday 9th February, 2021, at the Council’s Conference Hall in Kenema, was attended by both Primary and Secondary Healthcare Units.
Public Education Officer Sam P. Gogra updated the participants on some of the achievements of the Commission in the last three years, especially in the area of the non-conviction based assets recovery strategy that has resulted in the recovery of 26.8 Billion Leones, two government vehicles and the confiscation of a hotel in Koidu city, Kono District.
He also informed the health workers about the recent election of the ACC Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. to the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption following his nomination by the Government of His Excellency, President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio.
Mr. Gogra highlighted the gains the country continues to make in international indices like those of Transparency International, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the National Corruption Perception Survey conducted by a civil society Public Financial Management Consortium in Sierra Leone.
“These achievements are due to the political will demonstrated by President Bio’s Government and the robust leadership provided by Commissioner Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. in making corruption an unattractive and unprofitable enterprise”, Gogra emphasized.
He said the ACC office in Kenema will embark on a sustained on-the-spot check of all health facilities in the District to get first-hand experience from both staff and patients about service delivery. He cautioned that the Commission will not take kindly to any act of corruption reported.
He reminded the participants about the existence of the Integrity Management Committees (IMCs) charged with the responsibility to identify corruption-related issues and proffer workable recommendations to address them.
He encouraged the health workers to serve as whistle-blowers and report acts of corruption in their facilities via the free-toll lines of 515 (all networks) and 077986986.
In his contribution, Senior Investigations Officer (SIO), Mohamed A Jah, thrilled the audience with issues of integrity, transparency and accountability in the public sector, saying “a person with integrity demonstrates sound moral and ethical principles and does the right thing even when no one is watching”.
He further highlighted concerns the ACC office in Kenema continues to receive from the public with regards the services rendered at the health facilities, including extortion, late issuance of birth certificates, and the non-issuance of receipts for payments.
SIO Jah explained some of the offences and their corresponding penalties in the Anti-Corruption Act2008 as amended in 2019.
Earlier, Jeneba Kemoh, Public Education Officer, ACC Kenema office, spoke on the objectives of the meeting, which she referred to as a friendly engagement to create the enabling platform for public officers to be reminded about corruption-related practices in their entities and ways of curbing them. She said the work of the health workers should be guided by the policies and ethics of their profession, while at the same time maintain integrity while discharging their duties.
Expressing his appreciation for the engagement, the Kenema District Medical Officer Donald O. Grant, said the meeting was very timely as every unit in the hospital was represented to give them the opportunity to be educated on general corruption issues and be updated on the operations of the Commission. He appealed for such meetings to be sustainable,as its frequency will eventually result in positive behavioral changes of his staff.
Dr. I.M. Kapuwa, Medical Superintendent at the hospital, said their main mandate is to resuscitate life by providing healthcare services to patients. He said the hospital is a regional referral hospital with two main divisions, including the Primary Health Sector that educates the public on the prevention of diseases and design policies as a workable tool for the Ministry; and the Secondary Health Sector that administers treatment and surgical operations.He also statedthat all beneficiaries under the Free Health Care programme are treated free of cost.
Questions, comments and suggestions formed part of the engagement.
