4. Page 4 A spell of time - worn feud Narrowing through with hue of doomsday, With uneven yet adorned blemishes skewed, To its tabernacle of infernal fray. Its lashes out souvenirs in ample, To graciously lure those its abhorrence beguiles Into a sinister feast with a handsome yet ugly devil, Thriving on the twinkle of littluns it defiles. The scales of its brunt are grew and grave, With fat craving and protruded tummy; Brimmed with undignified coins ever craved And glutinously marrow even bones, yummy. Wine of Injustice are drunk at best, At the hall of greed with penury exhumed Ensuing chaos to quenching its thirst, To itself the dinning left to wholly consume. By: Alex A. Bah, Public Relations Assistant, ACC
3. Page 3 I t seems amidst the tremendous efforts the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) has been making to tackle corruption in all spheres of the society using multi - pronged approaches yet some sections of the public still perceive the fight against corruption wrongly. For them, combating corruption is the singular responsibility of the ACC . This delusion about the fight against corruption would perhaps create a barren space for the Commission and nurtur e a fertile ground for the corrupt. One may be tempted to say the current state of affairs relating to allege corrupt dealings perpetrated by certain school administrators in the enrollment of some pupils who supposed to sit to the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) emanate from such school of thought. Although it is also an important area but this piece would not dwell on the root causes o f the ineligibility of the candidates for the ongoing (WASSCE) but rather on the allegations made by some pupils on social m edia, especially on tiktok about money extorted from them as a prerequisite to take the examination. In spite of ACC’s efforts to conscientize the public against corruption, yet som e members of the public tend not to reject, resist and report corruption especially when they are at the centre of perpetrating the desp icable act. These kinds of people would only have the courage to revert to the Commission when rogues fall apart. Certainly these transactions constitute an offence in the Anti - Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019 and attract fines and custodial sentence. It is evident that to tackle emerging corrupt practices the Commission has transform ed its legal framework over the years. This was done through the repeal and replacement of the Anti - Corruption Act 2000 with the 2008 Anti - Corruption Act which was also subsequently amended in 2019 in order to make corruption an unfashiona ble enterprise. This transition in my opinion was effected to expand the role of other stat e institutions and citizens’ participation in the overall fight against corruption with the ACC being at the forefront of this fight. At this juncture, let us reflect on: How do we want the fight against corruption to be? Is it for your selfish interest or th e State? Are you reporting corruption to the ACC or persecuting your enemies? Fundamentally, if these questions are genuinely answered then they can help us understand that the fight against corruption is neither a t ool for political witch - hunt nor should it be left in the hands of the ACC. The public must also k now that a national fight of such nature requires the participation of every Sierra Leonean so that we can beat corruption. Certainly, the socio - economic needs of the citizens can only be met when the public choose to pitch t ent with the ACC to expose the corrupt. Although ACC has intensified its public education drive by reaching out to different spectrums of the society it should also redirect its efforts to hard to reach communities. It should also intensify its prevention approach especially in the area of monitoring of sch ool enrolment of candidates for public examination and ensuring justice is served to the dishonest individual. Th erefore, it is important to note that citizens are obliged to play critical roles in the fight against corruption. These roles include to resist, reject and report corruption incidences to the ACC through its various reporting channels: toll - free numbers 077 - 985985/077 - 986986, letter, emails, or in person at the Commission’s Integrity House in Free- town and its Regional Offices. By Sorie Yealie Kamara
2. Page 2 T he Regional Manager of the Anti - Corruption Commission (ACC) Office in Kono has called on the Tankoro Chiefdom Development Committee, section chiefs, town chiefs of the Woafeh section in Tankoro Chiefdom to maintain transparency and accountability in management and utilization of the surface rents and the Diamond DACDF funds. She made the call during the disbursement of surface rent funds to town chiefs, mammy queens, youth leaders, councillors and section chiefs of Woafeh Section at the Woama Community Hall on 10 th June, 2024. The ACC Regional Manager Hawanatu Omotayo Kamara further expressed gratitude to the chiefdom authorities of Tankoro for inviting the ACC to observe the payment process. She continued that the Commission has held meetings with the Community Development Committee in order to ensure transparency and accountability in the handling of development funds in the chiefdom, adding that, it will forester tranquillity and peace amongst the people of the chiefdom. “ Community people have been sensitised on corruption and its adverse effects and to ask questions on developmental projects in their communities. We are looking forward to a district where projects are judiciously implemented, free of corruption and other related crimes, as this will forester development and growth in the district,” the Manager averred. Mrs. Kamara reminded the chiefdom authorities and beneficiaries of the offences enshrined in the Anti - Corruption Act 2008 (as amended in 2019), such as, misappropriation of donor funds, possession of unexplained wealth, offering, soliciting and accepting advantage, influencing a public officer, receiving gift for a corrupt purpose, etc. Investigation Officer, ACC, Dauda Kaikai, underscored that there is a penalty in the Act for failure to furnish information and giving false answers to the Commission. The investigator continued that a person who dishonestly appropriates properties or funds donated for the development of a community has committed a crime. He further added that monies to be received are captioned as “Public Funds” and that it is an offence to misappropriate public funds, revenue or prop- erties. He therefore assured them of the Commis- sion’s commitments in fighting against corruption not only in the district but the country as a whole. In reporting suspected corruption matters, Public Education Officer, ACC, Patricia J. Sannoh told the participants that the Kono Regional Office is located at 18 Sanussie Street, Bungalow. She al- so told them that they can report corruption by writing a letter to the Commission, sending text message or phone call to the toll free lines - 077 - 985985 / 088 - 986986. She reminded them of the whistle blower protection policy and assured them that there are professional people who will welcome them and take their reports professionally. Earlier , while welcoming the team from ACC on behalf of the Paramount Chief, the town chief of Woama Village, Aiah James said that the Commission’s key role is to monitor and observe the process in order to ensure transparency and accountability during the disbursement of the surface rents. He called on all the stakeholders to channel their grievances and concerns to the ACC rather than going to the social media. Speaking on the importance of the surface rents, the Chiefdom Treasury Clerk, Sahr Kpakama said that the funds disbursed are surface rents paid by the Koidu Limited Mining Company. He said that disbursement of the surface rents have been revised and now divided into four parts: 70 percent to the land owing family, 10 percent each to the Paramount Chief, Constituency Development and the District Council. The treasury clerk added that the monies to be disbursed were the 70 percent for the land owners. He therefore urged the beneficiaries to use the monies judiciously and for the intended purposes.
1. 3rd—7th June 2024 Issue 2 Volume 20 INTEGRITY HOUSE, TOWER HILL FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE EDITORIAL TEAM EDITOR - IN - CHIEF Abubakarr Turay EDITORS Sylvanus Blake Alex A. Bah LAYOUT & GRAPHICS Philippa M. Davies EDITORIAL ADVISERS Augustine Foday Ngobie Patrick Sandi A s a way of preventing and addressing incidences of corruption in the public service, the North - West Regional Office of the Anti - Corruption Com- mission (ACC) on Tuesday 28th May 2024 engaged staff of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) in Port Loko on corruption prevention and maintaining integrity in the exercise of their functions and operations. Welcoming the ACC Team, Regional Manager for NASSIT Sylvanus N. Blake described the engagement as timely particularly when the Trust is currently addressing various public concerns and the need to collaborate with the Commission to addressing same. He went on to state that such collaboration will significantly help them to Group photo taken at the end of the engagement. ACC engagement ongoing with NASSIT staff in Port Loko mainstream anti - corruption measures in their operations and to also guide staff in maintaining best practices in their functions. In his response to concerns relating to delay in payment, Mr. Blake noted that members of the scheme most times do not update their records which significantly pose a serious chal- lenge in regularizing their statuses and payments altogether. He provided an explicit explanation on how the Trust handles members information, the procedure for payment to retirees and other beneficiaries, compliance issues and the role of the Public Relations Department. The Regional Manager, ACC North West, Fatu Florence Kamara in her brief statement underscored the significance of maintaining integrity and enhancing best practices as public officers. Manager Kamara pointed out that the engagement was as a result of concerns from the public relating to the Trust's functions and operations. Quite recently, she underscored, the ACC conducted a risk assessment on policy issues relating to Finance, Procure- ment, Monitoring and Evaluation, Internal Audit as well as mainstreaming anti - corruption policies in the operations of the Trust thereby, identifying administrative weaknesses and system gaps or any action that may amount to blatant acts of corruption. Commenting on key corruption issues in public bodies, the Regional Head encouraged Management and Staff to put together a functional and operational Integrity Management Committee (IMC) that will internalize the fight against corruption and address other corruption opportunities, and urged them to quickly address issues appertaining to non - payment of gratuities/ pensions to retirees, delays of payment to next of kins, sick members and other beneficiaries, and how they update institutions on non - payment of dues. She urged them to maintain high ethical standards and desist from any act that will amount to soliciting and accepting advantage, abuse of office and position, misappropriation of public funds amongst others.
