ACC goes to Kenema District Council
In continuation of its vigorous public education campaign aim at recruiting public officers into the fight against graft, The Eastern Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday 17th August 2011 engaged Councillors and staff of the Kenema District Council at their Conference Hall in Kenema. (Photo: Staff and Councillors of the Kenema District Council)
Deputy CA Kenema District Council Mr Mohamed B Kamara and ACC Ag Eastern Regional Manager Peter Baio Kamara
Delivering his opening remarks, the Deputy Chief Administrator of the Kenema District Mr. Mohamed Badamasi Kamara who chaired the meeting, expressed delight that the ACC was taking the step of sensitizing staff and councillors about corruption and the operations of the ACC. He referred to corruption as a common enemy that should be fought from all directions so that communities and the nation will develop. He said that this meeting was necessary as it serves as guide to public officers. Mr Kamara admonished all to be attentive and take down key points.
Welcoming the ACC to the District Council, Councillor, Momoh Massaquoi, on behalf the Chairman of the Council registered his appreciation to the ACC for holding such a sensitization session with staff of the Council adding that such engagements will foster their commitment to the fight against corruption.
District Coordinator Mohamed S Blake
The District Coordinating Officer Mr. Mohamed Sylvanus Blake gave the reasons why the ACC was engaging the Kenema District Council. He said the ACC was in the council not because they are corrupt but because it is the Commission’s mandate to educate the public about corruption and its bad effects on the nation and to encourage the public to support the Commission in its drive to rid the nation of corruption
As public officers in custody of public resources, Mr. Blake went on, there is the need to be aware of the offences in the AC Act, the penalties and how to avoid falling into the net of the ACC and explained to his audience the devastating effect corruption has on the nation.
ACC Regional Public Education Officer David K Conteh
The Public Education Officer Mr. David Kanekey Conteh highlighted some corrupt practices contained in the AC Act 2008 such as offering, soliciting and accepting advantage, possession of unexplained wealth, abuse of office, using influence for contracts, conflict of interest and corrupting a public officer,. He explained the penalties for each of these corrupt practices, Mr. Conteh catalogued the procedure for reporting corruption and assured participants of the Commission’s protection scheme for its informants and witnesses so as to encourage people to break the culture of silence and speak out against corruption. He encouraged them to resist and report corruption as it is one of the ways to join the Commission in the fight against graft and help develop this nation.
Giving the overview of the Commission, Acting Regional Manager East of the ACC Peter Baio Kamara categorised the main approach of the ACC into three, which is Education, Prevention and Confrontation. He stated that the Commission is more interested in people being converts through Public Education than having lots of convicts through Investigation and prosecution. Mr Kamara said that the AC Act of 2008 increased the corrupt practices from nine to twenty seven, giving prosecutorial power to the Commission and making the penalties stiffer than those contained in the 2000 Act.
He said that such meetings with MDAs do not in any way cast aspersions on officials but are meant to serve as a wakeup call to all public officers to operate within the provisions of the laws governing their operations. He re-echoed the fact that the ACC takes pride in making more converts than convicts as it is more expensive and time consuming to cure than to prevent. He highlighted the progress the Commission has made in the fight against corruption and encouraged all to join the commission so that all will share the successes of the Commission together
In his statement on behalf of the entire council, the Deputy Chairman of the Kenema District Council, Mr. Luseni A. Sheriff urged participants to give due consideration to the knowledge gained and to pass on such knowledge about the operations of the ACC to their Ward Committee members and community people. He commended the ACC for monies recovered from the hands of corrupt persons which are paid back into the consolidated fund by the Commission and expressed the Council’s unwavering commitment to the fight against corruption. He however encouraged the ACC to continue the good work and urged them to advocate for improved conditions of service for workers and for government to reconsider paying councils monthly instead of quarterly.
Many questions were asked and concerns raised which were appropriately responded to by ACC officers. The hotlines through which report can be made to the ACC were read out.
By David Kanekey Conteh, ACC, Public Education Officer-Eastern Region
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