By Mada Augustine Ngombu
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has commenced monitoring payment of 9,900 beneficiaries of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) that commenced in various parts of Freetown on Wednesday 30th November 2022.
ACC’s involvement in the process is part of the Grievance Redress Mechanism component of the social safety nets project to prevent acts that will lead to corruption practices.
ACC Deputy Commissioner, Augustine Foday Ngobie addressing mostly women beneficiaries said One Million, Three Hundred and Nine (Old) Leones (Le:1,309,000) or One Thousand, Three Hundred and Nine (New) Leones (LeN:1,309) will be paid out per recipient, as part of the Residual Caseload, that went unpaid during the initial payments in 2021, due to some challenges.
He said the ECT is a European Union, World Bank and Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) funded project, implemented by the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) and the Rokel Commercial Bank, and monitored by the ACC and other stakeholders for petty business traders, that were grossly affected by the CoVID19 pandemic which crippled their businesses. The cash, he said, is to help resurrect their struggling small businesses.
He said the project was initially a crucial effort to cushion the widespread debilitating economic effects on especially poor and vulnerable households, during the Ebola outbreak, and ensure beneficiaries get unfettered access to their entitlements, hence its anti-poverty driven aim also known as “ep fet po” is met.
He added that the social safety net (SSN) program has kept mutating and expanding even after the Ebola Pandemic.
Ngobie explained to beneficiaries and stakeholders that all the centres visited showed everything went on smoothly with no visible challenges. While engaging with the beneficiaries, Ngobie told the traders that the ACC shall at all times ensure the smooth implementation of the project, to avoid corruption and that they should always feel free to call and refer all complaints, concerns and grievances to the commission. He assured them of a swift and adequate response to problems and that there will be no reprisals for anyone who makes complaints to the ACC.
The beneficiaries stated that there were no problems with the payment and admitted that both registration and payment went on well and that they had no concerns.
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