By Francis H. Murray
Sierra Leone has moved ten places upwards in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (TI-CPI), according to the latest [2019] report.
This is the most drastic improvement the country has ever made in the last five years, indicating that the Bio administration’s clampdown on corruption maybe working.
In a statement issued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday 23rd January, it cited the CPI as revealing that for the first time in more than five years, Sierra Leone is ranked under 120, adding that her 33 point score is the highest the country has ever achieved since its inclusion in the Index.
The yearly report published by the Germany-based Transparency International, a leading global anti-corruption watchdog, notes that this year’s report shows that Sierra Leone has hit 30% and is among the top ten performers in its income category, according to the ACC.
‘‘Within the past two years, Sierra Leone has increased its score in the Control of Corruption Indicator in the Millennium Challenge Corporation Scorecard, moving from forty-nine percent (49%) in 2017, to seventy-nine (79%) percent in 2019, making thirty percent (30%) upwards,’’ a portion of the release from the Commission states.
Sierra Leone moved from 129 in 2018 to 119 in the 2019 index, out of 180 countries that were ranked.
Sierra Leone now leads 61 countries including Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Kenya and others in the fight against corruption.
Sierra Leone’s achievement in the region comes as a remarkable success considering the challenges the fight against graft is facing in Sub Saharan Africa.
‘‘This year’s report reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa’s performance paints a bleak picture of inaction against corruption, revealing that a staggering number of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption’’, the ACC statement further quoted the report.
Director of Public Education and External Outreach Department at the ACC, Patrick Sandi, said that the ranking comes as a big boost to their work.
‘‘It is a very big boost, it is highly motivational because it shows that the work we are doing as a Commission is recognized nationally and internationally. If we look at the leap, it is quite a very huge leap, ten places upwards, you’re dropped from 129 to 119 and the score as well you’ve been on 30, now it’s 33. It’s quite indicative of the fact that the fight against corruption is now at a greater speed and that the leadership of the Commission and even the country, His Excellency the President , we’re all committed to making sure that we deal with this problem of corruption once and for all’’, Sandy told Politico in an interview.
This latest achievement doesn’t just come as a success, it also comes with challenges; challenges like coping with the high level of international expectation to get better.
Sandi said this is a challenge that they will relish as a Commission.
“This in itself has kind of set a very high bar, so we will want to do more and get up rather than go down,” he said.
“Going forward we may have challenges but we will make sure we surmount them and keep our eyes on the ball, so we will do the right thing for the people of this country,” Sandi added.
The ACC has done tremendously well in the fight against corruption in the country. Its commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala has been in the forefront of its success stories.
The latest ranking is sure to boost the profile of the country in the fight against graft.
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