By Amin Kef Sesay
In a Press Release issued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), on 11th October, 2021,it was stated that, in compliance with Section 19(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008 as amended in 2019, the Commission presented its 2020 Annual Report to the President, Brigadier (Rtd.) Dr. Julius Maada Wonnie Bio at State House.
Francis Ben Kaifala Esq, the ACC Commissioner, presenting the report thanked the President for his unwavering support to the Commission.
“Your Excellency, even with COVID-19, we continue to do our work for the people of Sierra Leone. We thank you for your support and we are appreciative of it,” the Commissioner said. He also stated that the work of the Commission shows remarkable progress at all levels of the campaign against corruption.
Responding, the President thanked the ACC Commissioner and his team for the great work and success in the fight against corruption, which he said was being acknowledged around the world. He said his Government would continue to give the fight against corruption the seriousness and attention that it deserves, noting “…we must punish the corrupt and it is a fight we must fight, and it is a fight we must win, if we are to develop our country.”
President Bio, therefore, encouraged the ACC to work even harder and continue the good work in a bid to defeat the scourge of corruption in Sierra Leone.
The 2020 Annual Report covers the work and activities of the Commission in 2020, especially in the areas of; public education, prevention, assets declaration, national strategy implementation, intelligence, investigation and prosecution.
In 2020, the ACC recovered Eight Billion Leones from corrupt persons and secured over 90% conviction rate from cases investigated and charged to court. The Commission also conducted massive systems and processes reviews of public offices as well as public education and outreach activities across the country.
It was a year the country scored 81% in the indicator on ‘Control of Corruption’ in the Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard and ranked 117 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Afro Barometer also recorded a drop in corruption prevalence from 70% to 40%; all of which are new high standards for the country.
