By Theresa Kef Sesay
The Deputy Commissioner and Operations Coordinator of the Anti-Corruption Commission, respectively, on the 9th January 2021 updated section of members of the Media, Civil Society and Religious Leaders at the ACC Kenema Regional Office on the gains of the ACC, challenges, key activities in 2020 and plans for 2021.
The move was made in line with the ACC’s quest to keep Sierra Leoneans up to speed with its activities and in tandem with Section 5 Subsection 2 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008, as amended in 2019 which stipulates that the Commissioner shall account to the people of Sierra Leone for the conduct of the national campaign against corruption,
Welcoming participants to the meeting, ACC’s Regional Manager East, Keifala Koi, said, partnership and teamwork are very fundamental to the fight as their proactive nature enables them to access crucial corruption related information and intelligence.
In his detailed but comprehensive presentation, Augustine Foday Ngobie, Deputy Commissioner ACC informed participants of the monumental and breath-taking gains the ACC recorded in the fight against corruption in 2020.
On the specific achievements, Mr. Ngobie catalogued the recovery of Billions of Leones and Assets, the consistent and progressive strides in the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC’s) control of corruption indicator, the high rate of convictions, and the proactive and precision manner it is addressing issues in the Audit Reports, effective implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), 2019-2023, and the pleasant and favorable rankings in international and local Perception Surveys to name but a few.
Concerns of the recent Audit Report on NaCOVERC operations were quickly addressed by the Deputy Commissioner who assured all that the two Reports were been carefully dissected and all those found wanting will be dealt with decisively without fear or favor.
He furthered that the ACC has already recovered over Le 220 Million Leones from persons who flouted procurement regulations in the purchase of 47 Laptops and personal high-end gadgets, representing in full the price variation of the items.
Sierra Leoneans should be proud of the positive results the Commission is recording and we promise not to disappoint the nation he stressed.
Speaking at the engagement, ACC’s Coordinator of Operations, Emmanuel Koivaya Amara Esq., stated that the Commission do not only has the mandate to fight corruption but is also accountable to the people of Sierra Leone.
He stated that the Ben Keifala administration has withdrawn from the textbook approach of fighting corruption and is now employing the Non Conviction Based Asset Recovery as a new strategic approach that has led to a massive recovery of stolen money and other physical assets from corrupt Sierra Leoneans, adding that the recovered monies will be utilized for the entire citizenry.
With the mantra “Bring back the People’s Money”, Mr. Amara reassured the audience of the Commission’s use of the Sierra Leone’s method of fighting corruption which further mandates the Commission to run after the looters with aggression and professionalism.
The people of Sierra Leone are in dire need of money and the Commission will go after those who loot from the people, he emphasized.
Referring to corruption as the biggest human rights issue, the Coordinator of Operations appealed to participants to be vigilant and always report corruption to the Commission for the fight to be won.
Comments, suggestions and questions formed the high point of the interaction.
