By Amin Kef Sesay
In an interview granted by President Julius Maada Bio to the widely viewed TV Station, the Cable News Network (CNN), anchor of that Station, Zain Asher, started by asking the President how he is performing against his campaign promise to root out corruption in the country. She added that before he was elected as President he promised of stamping out corruption and when he became President he instituted an investigation of his predecessor’s administration.
Zain Asher said fast forward, three years in governance, what does Sierra Leoneans think of how he has handled corruption in the country.
In his response, President Bio stated that corruption, prior to his administration, was endemic in the country, furthering how it was fashionable and a way of life. He disclosed that what he has done is to make corruption very risky, to make it not fashionable anymore as seen in the work and achievements of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
He highlighted that his Government has been able to retrieve a lot of money from those who acquired monies illegally.
President Bio commended his Government that when they took power they were rated for the control of corruption within the region of 47% but stated that currently they are rated at 80%, adding that in the past three years his Government has made tremendous progress in combating graft.
When the CNN anchor put it to him that the former Chief Minister and even the First Lady were accused of misusing public funds and what had been done to hold them accountable, the President said it is easy to make allegations against any member of his family or an official of his Government related to corruption. He, however, emphatically stated that in the midst of all those allegations it is very significant to produce overwhelming evidences which, according to him, had not been the case.
“We have a system that a whistle blower has to produce evidence,” he maintained adding that without producing the evidence such means the whistle blower is also corrupt when he has nothing to do with raising a false alarm.
The President continued that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is free to go and investigate and where there is evidence of wrong doing as far as public funds are concerned action could be taken.
Asked by Zain Asher if it is proven that the former Chief Minister and the First Lady have actually misused public funds how will they be held accountable, he answered that there is a prescription for whatever happens, saying if that is the case, that corruption actually took place when proven in a court of law or by a Commission of Inquiry then those found guilty will be asked to pay back furthering how there are different forms of punishment for anyone found guilty.
Quizzed on his recent appointment of the Minister of Finance, who according to Zain, was accused of perpetrating long standing corruption and what message does that send to Sierra Leoneans, President Bio said again she (the CNN anchor) has used the word “accused” maintaining that the new Finance Minister, Denis Vandy, went through a lengthy legal process to prove that he was guilty stating how it however turned out that he was not.
“So as I said it is easy for anybody to lay claims that the other person is corrupt but as a law abiding country we go at extreme lengths to make sure that when such claims or allegations are made those accused are investigated and brought before the court of law and the necessary actions instituted or meted out,” he responded.
President Bio reiterated that it is important that an accused person goes through a very competent legal process of investigation to prove that he/she is guilty or not guilty.
