By Theresa Kef Sesay
The Anti-Corruption Commission and Transparency International (TI) Sierra Leone Chapter have commemorated the African Anti-Corruption Day on the 11th July 2021.
It will be recalled that the 11th of July is the African Anti-Corruption Day. On that day in 2003, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique which came into effect in 2006 and has since then been ratified by 44 Member States of the African Union including Sierra Leone. The main thrust of celebrating the day is to give prominence to the fight against corruption through the commemoration of the adoption of the AUCPCC as a mechanism for fighting corruption in Africa.
This year the fifth edition of the Day is celebrated on the theme: “Regional Economic Communities: Critical Actors in the Implementation of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption”.
It must be highlighted that this institution expresses its continued appreciation to the Government and People of Sierra Leone for their sustained efforts towards the fight against corruption.
The institution holds the view that Sierra Leone is doing a handsome work in the fight against corruption based on data and statistics from credible international and domestic indexes including; the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard, the Transparency International (TI) Afro-Barometer Ratings and the Annual Global Corruption Perception Index.
It stated that, however, we still need to do more as a country, if we are to eradicate corruption and change the country’s development trajectory.
Worthy of note is that Corruption is a global challenge that reduces the country’s prosperity by 5% of global GDP every year ($2.6 trillion – World Economic Forum) and Africa/Sierra Leone bear the brunt of this menace.
He said in addition to hampering economic growth and investment, corruption also undermines the stability of societies and the ability of Governments to meet the needs of their citizens.
“States, including ours, are therefore required to be committed to battling corruption in all its forms,” he stated.
“As we continue to intensify our engagement with members of the Government, senior officials, non-state actors and the general public, let us remind ourselves that corruption is the most significant obstacle to our aspirations as a nation,” he pointed out admonishing all to reflect on the true ravaging effects of corruption on the nation. He argued that it is a threat to everything good and to everyone.
The ACC and TI-SL ended up calling on Sierra Leoneans to speak up against corruption, report any suspected acts of corruption to the ACC and exhibit integrity and accountability in everyday dealings.
