ACC trains civil society members in Port Loko

In a bid to build up the capacity of Civil Society Organizations in the fight against graft in the country, the Northern Regional Office of the Anti-Corruption Commission has on Thursday 14^th June 2012 trained civil society members operating in Port Loko District.

Explaining the rationale for the training at the Human Rights Library in Port Loko, ACC’s District Coordinator, Mr. Sahid Kamara emphasised the crucial role of civil society in the fight against graft in Sierra Leone. He said the ACC recognized the importance of civil society organizations in nation building, that is why it is collaborating with them. Collaborating with Civil Society Organizations in the fight against corruption Mr. Kamara emphasized, is in tandem with the core strategies of the Anti-Corruption Commission in dealing with the scourge.

The objective of the training he noted was to increase their knowledge and understanding on how to relay anti-corruption messages to the public and for them to also realize how corrupt practices in their operations can negatively affect the districts and impact negatively on national development.

The Port Loko District Coordinator further told civil society members that the training was also geared towards identifying areas of collaboration and partnership with the Anti-Corruption Commission in the fight against corruption.

In his address to civil society representatives, the Northern Regional Manager of ACC, Mr. Patrick Sandi expressed the Commission’s readiness to collaborate with civil society organizations at all times. He said as they are playing the watch dog role in different societies, they have to be committed and sincere in the fight against corruption. The training the Regional Manager noted, was part of the public education and preventive approaches used by the Commission in the fight against corruption in the country.

Manager Sandi told civil society members that as they are one of the oversight bodies of the Commission, they must instill the culture of integrity and patriotism in them by always resisting, rejecting and reporting corruption.

He called on the civil society representatives to join and support the Commission in the fight. “Corruption fight is not easy; it is a fight for us all, so we have to be united in this fight. The ACC needs your support at all times”, Mr. Sandi entreated.

The training was divided into three sessions. The first session which was facilitated by ACC’s Public Education Officer, Al-Hassan Sesay focused on the background, mission, vision, mandate and overview of the operations of the Commission. The second session facilitated by the Northern Regional Manager of ACC, Mr. Patrick Sandi centered on the offences and penalties in the 2008 AC Act, how to report corrupt acts and the protection of informants; whilst the last session was a group discussion and presentation by participants on the mode of collaboration between ACC and Civil Society Organizations.

ACC Makeni

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