By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The new head of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), Ady Maculey, has on Monday ended a familiarization tour in the Eastern district of Kono.
This visit to Kono is the first since Commissioner Macauley took office some few months ago. During the tour he visited Paramount Chiefs and Police officers and addressed all of them on the importance of a corrupt-free society.
In his address at the Tankoro Native Administrative Barray he talked about his approach in fighting corruption at all levels. The ACC boss said he would target the “Tigers and Flies” in his fight against corruption. He used this reference to show his commitment to fighting corruption at all levels.
Many had in the past condemned the approach of the commission in fighting corruption, saying it focused too much on big personalities rather than checking for the everyday acts of corruption that is ongoing within the bottom half of society.
During his address, Macauley updated members of the civil society and other officials who were present about the progress of the commission. He gave an update about the commission’s flagship project, ‘Pay No Bribe’ campaign.
The Sierra Leone Police, among other government institutions, have been leading the way in ensuring they get rid of corruption from within. The commissioner praised the progress the force had made so far in curbing the act. In previous years, the Police had performed very badly in ACC’s corruption perception surveys. This result had been backed by last year’s report that was launched by the Institute for Governance Reform.
The ACC boss ended his tour in Kono with a visit to the offices if the Ministry of Education. There had been complaints that the ministry had locked up a huge amount of learning materials meant to be distributed to schools. During his tour at the facility he found out and ordered that the materials be distributed against Friday June 3.
When he took over from his predecessor, Macauley was greeted with skepticism as to his capability to continue with the fight against corruption. But the new Commissioner said there focus as a commission remains the same, no matter who was in charge.
(C) Politico 01/06/16
