ACC engages BKPS on Service Charter

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), together with its alliance partners, the Civil Society and the media, on Thursday 5^th August, 2013 engaged the management of the Bo Kenema Power Services (BKPS) on the implementation of the service charter at their Show Avenue office in Kenema.

Explaining the purpose of the meeting, the ACC’s Kenema District Coordinating Officer Mohamed Sylvanus Blake said that it was in no way a response to corruption allegation about personnel of the BKPS but a follow up meeting to assess the implementation of the service charter since its launching and popularization in October 2012.

He said the ACC has a responsibility to follow through recommendations made to policies and codes drafted for MDAs. He recalled that in August 2012, the Systems Review Department of the Commission together with the BKPS put together the Citizens Delivery Service Charter which clearly sets out the services the BKPS provides, the cost and time frame for the provision of the service, and the personnel responsible for each service to be provided.

The ACC, he said laid out the frame work and the BKPS provided the technical expertise needed for the charter. He said that they were coming back to the drawing board to look at the challenges faced in the implementation of the charter and to chat the way forward so that the public gets the quality service they deserve.

He encouraged them to be open and honest enough to bring out the issues so that solutions for surmounting the challenges are found. He asserted that the service charter must work for the benefit of all.

The Acting Regional manager of the ACC, Rev. Ibrahim M. Kamara in his presentation explained the service charter and its components emphasizing the various tariffs and catalogued the responsibilities of the B/KPS in enhancing effective and quality service delivery. He emphasized that compliance with the service charter by MDAs was not optional and that the dictates of these charters must be respected and adhered to and that compliance sanctions will apply should anyone fail to act in accordance with the charter. He explained the role of the ACC in ensuring that the service charter works, which is why the ACC and its alliance partners were at the B/KPS to follow up on the implementation of the service charter. He called on the B/KPS management to do all within its power to ensure that staff of B/KPS understand and go strictly by the service charter and refrain from any act that would undermine the intension of the charter.

Earlier in opening remarks the chairman of the occasion Peter Baio Kamara, the ACC’s Senior Public Education officer in the region, expressed the Commission’s gratefulness to the B/KPS management, the Civil Society and the Media for honouring their invitation.

He said that the Commission attaches so much importance to prevention that it took a high powered delegation; lead by the Commissioner, Joseph F. Kamara (Esq.), two Directors, Maurice D. Williams of the Systems Department, and Shollay Davies of the Public Education and Outreach Department, managers and heads of units of the Commission travelled to Kenema to launch and popularize the charter (BKPS and Government Hospital).

Mr. Kamara said that the Commission draws its mandate to prepare service charter from section 7 (2) subsections (f), (g) and (h) of the Anti-corruption Act 2008 which, among others, makes provision for the drafting of model codes of conduct and to advice public bodies as to the adoption of such code of conduct as may be suited to such bodies and issue instructions to public bodies of changes in practices and procedures necessary to reduce or eliminate instances of corrupt practices. He said this meeting was not unique to the B/KPS alone as the Commission has on two occasions had similar engagements with the Management of the Kenema Government Hospital. Mr. Kamara highlighted the advantages of the service charter to staff of the establishment and the consequences if they do not adhere to it. He stressed that public officers have the duty to protect public revenue and public funds and that B/KPS, being a revenue generating agency, should ensure that they do all within their power to make sure the nation is not deprived of much needed revenue and called on management to enforce the code of conduct guiding its Staff.

He said the Commission in fulfillment of one of its core values of coalition building and partnership, brought on board its strategic partners; the civil society and the Media as part of the process to help assess the implementation of the service charter. The media was represented by Bob Batilo Saffa, Regional Chairman for the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) James Jamil Fatorma of Star Radio and Ismail Sesay of Eastern Radio and a member of the Media Alliance against Corruption (MAAC).

In his statement the Acting CEO and Technical Director of the BKPS Mr. Munda Lewis thanked the ACC for such engagement as such meetings are meant to help them deliver quality and efficient service. He explained the role of the BKPS as contained in the electricity Act of 2011. He gave a rundown of the procedures for installation of electricity supply and for the acquisition of meters. He highlighted the constraints faced by his establishment ranging from the unavailability of transformers and shortage of service meters. He said that people do not show understanding with the BKPS especially when they are faced with these constraints. He maintained that some settlements cannot have electricity because upon needs assessment, they require transformers which are not readily available. Furthermore, settlements in both Kenema and Bo are expanding so is the demand for power with the same old Dodo Hydro Dam. He called on journalists and the general public to show understanding with them.

In their various contributions, representatives of the media and the civil society pointed out the need for BKPS to empower their public relations wing so that the public in duly informed about the services they provide and the right channel to go through to access BKPS services. Issues around inconsistencies in electricity bills, unfair power distribution, consumers not notified of causes of power failure, illegal connections, unfair disconnection revisiting the marriage or MOU between Bo and Kenema were among the numerous issues raised in the meeting.

As a way forward, it was suggested that BKPS gets on to the public through the radio on a regular basis to inform the people about their operations through public notices, make public their list of certified contractors and for BKPS warn its staff against breach of their code of practice, the need to separate Bo and Kenema power services and that the government should capacitate the BKPS to enable them cope with the increasing demand for power supply among others.

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