The State of Corruption in Sierra Leone
Corruption, a complete state of moral decadence and selfish acquisition of wealth at the expense of the general masses has engulfed the once pure minds the country depend on to wheel it’s growth and development and as such has become such a vicious circle that each generation of leaders and stakeholders seems to have been born with the innate tendencies to be corrupt and live and thrive in it at the expense of vast many.
Because it is the universal drive masterminded by our strong western donors, bilateral countries and development agencies alike, successive governments in the country have made attempts to institute what they call the fight against corruption-menace to societal growth and development. Strategies have been different and varied, mostly either punctuated by the level of commitment or hypocrisy.
When during the SLPP reign under the leadership of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah the idea of setting up the Anti Corruption Commission was instituted, the news was largely welcomed, giving hopes of growth and development as the all time cancer to the country’s growth and development was now going to be nipped in the bud as was presented in the Anti Corruption Act. Â
Most of the strides recorded in the fight against corruption during the Tejan Kabbah reign were best termed by the media and civil society as lip service, no formidable headway was ever recorded as the then law itself against corruption was vague and frail.
The fight against corruption came to be a little redefined under the APC Ernest Koroma regime, repealing the law and giving it more credence and prosecutorial powers and as well as making a clarion declaration of zero tolerance against state corruption. To their credence, the APC has been able to record some meaningful headway as compared to the previous government. The level of true and daylight corruption that exists today does not in any way match the efforts made to by example curb corruption. Presently, corruption exists in no small way than before; friends and families indulgent in gross corruption are being protected by the state whilst some others have been made the carry badges as scapegoats, victims of circumstances.    Â
These seeming moves to re-brand Sierra Leone from corruption are most apparently being done by the government with a view to live within the whim and caprice the neo-colonialist dictates of western pressure and not in any way to sincerely free the country from the tightened grip of corruption and greed.
It must be stated without any reservation that fighting corruption on the lips is not enough to salvage the so-called popularized Agenda for Change and zero tolerance on corruption. The crusade to fight corruption in our beloved country needs action–oriented strategies nurtured in both our religious places of worship and learning and social institutions as well.
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