By Amin Kef Sesay
If we start to describe people and institutions like the whistle blower Chernoh Bah and the Africanist Press as annoyances and detractors, and fight tooth and nail to silence them because those of us in government have been accused by them, we are at risk of losing the fight as a nation against corruption which the President said we must fight and must win.
There is local, regional, continental and global recognition that something must be done about corruption—but far less agreement about how to correct the situation most effectively.
Let us start on the assumption that the emphasis must first and foremost be placed on establishing effective media strategies and taking proactive measures to get the anti-corruption message to the public, such as Chernoh Bah and Africanist Press have been doing lately that has raised public awareness about corruption in the Bio administration.
Corruption, like Chernoh Bah said, is a living organism. Investigating the past administration does not mean there is no corruption in the current one. As such, fighting corruption is like running a marathon race, not a sprint.
Former President Koroma who gave teeth and muscle to the country’s ACC to enable it fight corruption effectively, knows that fighting corruption is not easy. Unlike many criminals, dishonest public officials often continue to have power and influence.
Political interference, even in cases involving low-level officials, frequently derails prosecution.
However, no one in public governance, administration and management needs to be lectured on the importance of controlling corruption and countering the devastating impact that it has had for decades in this country on individuals, communities and the nation’s growth and development.
What Chernoh Bah and Africanist Press are saying is that, because of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, everyone in the global community has an opportunity to change the reality of corruption.
Sadly however, it is the anti-corruption professionals that frequently are little appreciated and too often demeaned that can have real impact in the fight against corruption by keeping it on the front burner. It is their efforts that will win or lose the battle. The Calabash unreservedly commends and celebrates all those that put their ease, lives and comfort on the line in the fight against corruption; knowing that corruption is always ready to fight back with all the weapons in its arsenal; including outright lies against whistle blowers.
If Sierra Leone, as a government and a people in search of rapid socio-economic development, wants to win the war against corruption, we need to find more and better ways to support those people who work in the field of anti-corruption.
For the commitment, integrity, and perseverance of people in the anti-corruption field, all of us should be grateful. To help them, we must spend more time developing tools to make their very difficult jobs a bit easier, as the work of these professionals often can endanger their careers and their lives.
Given the devastating effect corruption has had in this country, including it being a leading cause of the eleven years civil war, corruption should be viewed by one and all as a detrimental enemy on the development agenda.
Consequently, a heightened sense of accountability among politicians, public bodies and institutions must be inculcated by government and the public.
Most importantly, when the media supports the anti-corruption agency’s work, it is possible to turn the culture of an entire country toward openness and accountability.
To their immense cost, many agencies underestimate the critical challenges and negative effects of weak and inadequate communication. This failure is one of the reasons why we are losing the fight against corruption.
Communication determines where the media stands in this struggle. The anti-corruption agencies including Audit-SL, Parliament, and The Judiciary must be in constant communication with the people on the evils of corruption in the society.
When a media storm occurs, the absence of an agency’s response to the alleged corruption under investigation can facilitate an adverse perception in the public mind. Unchecked, such a perception may develop into assumptions about an agency’s legitimacy.
In those circumstances, an agency can promote public trust in its operations by acting on an agreed media strategy.
Providing basic information about an issue or matter in question does not have to incorporate an acceptance or denial of the allegations. Instead, the public appetite can be satisfied with basic background information on why the allegation arose, what measures are in place, and what steps are to be taken.
