ACC Commissioner’s Statement: Commissioning of the Anti Corruption Commission Building at Makeni-1 December 2011
Your Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, Mr. Chairman, Ministers of Government, Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic corps, Paramount Chiefs, The Mayor of the City of Makeni, Religious Elders, Members of the Fourth Estate and Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today, on the valleys of the Mena Hills, marks another deliberate step in the progressive fight against corruption in Sierra Leone, as we witness the commissioning of a new office for the ACC in Makeni, to cater for immediate regional needs. This event represents a ten year journey, during which the ACC had struggled to position itself within the complex strata of the political governance of Sierra Leone.
A couple of years ago, we cannot even bring our cases to court, except through the fiat of the Attorney-General. In 2008, the Government boldly supported and passed an amendment to the ACC Act, with a view to empower the institution with prosecutorial powers. This means that the ACC can now prosecute its own cases without any recourse to the office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. In addition, the number of corrupt offences has been drastically increased from 9 to 27. The new Anti-Corruption Act 2008 now covers wide ranging issues including issues of Conflict of Interest, Unexplained and Illegal Acquisition of Wealth, Corruption in Procurement, Abuse of Position and Office; to name but a few.
Today, the ACC is an established pillar of support to good governance pursuing integrity in public life, confronting corruption through exposure, system review, investigation and prosecution. The adoption of a comprehensive approach in the fight against corruption has embraced society as a whole and brought sensitive issues on corruption into the daily discourse of the citizenry. We report with pride, that we have regional offices in all provincial Headquarter towns (Kenema, Bo and Makeni) and District Coordinators in each of the 12 Districts of Sierra Leone. With the support of the Government and development partners such as DfID, we have our own buildings in Kenema and Makeni.
Again, we report with humility, that the Commission has been able to recover since 2008, Le 5.6 Billion Leones plus $75,000USD, the total which is equivalent to over USD $1.355,000 (One Million three Hundred and Fifty-five thousand United States Dollars) paid directly into the Consolidated Fund.
Similarly, eight weeks ago, in pursuit of that spirit, we presented another check to the Government in the amount of Le. 867,906,000 (Eight Hundred and Sixty-Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Six Thousand Leones), as the latest recovery funds.
In spite of the achievements, we acknowledge the need for improvement in efficiency and effectiveness to:
- Attract quality personnel to fast-track the analysis of relevant documents/investigations.
- Strengthening District offices to make them more functional and productive.
- Attract greater funding support
- Managing a challenging political and public goodwill
- Building a Headquarters in the capital of Freetown
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we celebrate the Commissioning of the new ACC building, let me seize the opportunity to especially thank the President, H.E Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, Government and people of Sierra Leone for their undaunted support. It must be noted that the Government now funds 80% of the entire budget of the ACC. We are deeply grateful also, to the United Kingdom Government through its DfID Grant, the World Bank, European Union, IRISH AID, GIZ and UNDP. Sincere thanks also to our consultants ‘IDEAS LTD’ and our contractors-‘Global Services’
Today, we also recognize the 2011 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index just released this very morning, rating Sierra Leone with a 2.5 aggregate signaling a small but yet, an upward trend for the second time around since my appointment as Commissioner of the ACC. In that Report, while all our neighbors experienced a downward trend, Sierra Leone marched forwards.
Above all, let us today celebrate the dawn of a new era of consciousness of accountability and transparency, belief in our values and respect for the Rule of Law-“that no man is above the law and no place to hide”.
It’s a dream for our times, and our children’s.
It’s a dream for our country, Sierra Leone.
It’s an achievable ACC objective
I THANK YOU!
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