By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
A new Afro Barometer report that was launched on Tuesday has shown that 54% of Sierra Leoneans believe that the Commissions of Inquiry (COI) is effective to fight corruption. Only 11%, which represents just one in ten people, hold a negative view against the establishment of COI.
The report which was launched by Afro Barometer’s local partner, the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), comes at the backdrop of the release of the government White Paper, which is a response to the recommendations of the recently concluded Commissions of Inquiry.
Data for the research was gathered in March this year, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
Some 50% of people also said the COI is fair and impartial, whiles just 13% disagree. The report also highlighted the pattern of thought among different sets of people.
The remaining 36% refused to comment on it or said they didn’t know.
“Positive views about the Commissions of Inquiry’s impartiality and effectiveness increase with respondent’s level of economic wellbeing and education,” the media release summarizing the findings states.
Executive Director of IGR, Andrew Lavalie, said: “This doesn’t say whether someone is guilty or not. It just shows what people feel, that the COI will contribute to the fight against corruption.”
This latest report focuses specifically on the fight against corruption. It shows that 40% of respondents said that corruption has somewhat increased, this number fell by 3% compared to 2018.
Some 31% believe corruption has decreased, this is also a decrease of 2% in 2018; all of which shows a steady progress in the fight against corruption and perception.
But the worrying data set is the one which shows that there is a significant drop in confidence over the government’s ability on whether they are doing enough in dealing with corruption.
In 2018, only 26% of people believed that the government was doing badly in fighting corruption, that number has now gone up to 49%. During the same period those who believed that the government was doing fairly well or very well in fighting corruption has gone down, from 66% to 38%.
Even though the numbers are better compared to the 2015 and 2012 figures, for a government that has pride itself in fighting corruption, this data shows a not-so-good trend for the Bio administration.
The Afro Barometer report also highlights the opinion of people about the media’s role in the fight against corruption. Some 78% of people want the media to constantly investigate corruption and point out mistakes of the government.
“This shows that the media are also seen as partners in the fight against corruption,” Lavalie said.
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